GOP makes bid for redistricting

For the first time, Democrats control the committee that will draw new county commission

districts for the next decade. But Republican state lawmakers hope to change that.

Legislation introduced by state Sen. Mike Kowall, R-White Lake, would give responsibility for

drawing the commission districts to the county commission, which is currently controlled by

Republicans.

Predictably, Democrats are crying foul.

"The notion of having the county commission drawing their own districts is a little bit like

the fox guarding the chicken coop," Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner, a Democrat and

member of the five-person committee, said Tuesday.

"To my knowledge, no county commissioners in the state draw their own districts," Meisner

said. "There's a reason why we have that structure. It's designed to be an independent body

and

that's what we've got."

The legislation specifically applies to counties with more than 1 million population and

which have an elected county executive. The two counties that meet the criteria are Oakland

and Wayne.

"It would certainly seem that Oakland County is their target," Meisner said. "This proposal,

aside from being a little late in the process, I think violates the spirit of good faith that

has existed and it's a pretty brazen partisan move. I think it raises a number of legal

concerns."

County commission districts, like state legislative and congressional districts, are redrawn

every 10 years following the U.S. Census.

County commission districts are redrawn by a committee made up of the county clerk, county

prosecutor, county treasurer and the chairs of the county Republican and Democratic parties.