MARQUETTE -- Update 12:00 P.M. EST.
The Marquette County Apportionment Commission voted in favor of redrawing the district lines on Friday morning.
The number of Marquette County commissioners will be reduced from nine to six.
The Marquette County Apportionment Commission must evaluate the district lines for the county every ten years following the release of census data. They say population changes made it necessary to reconfigure district lines to stay in accordance with legal statutes.
The five-member apportionment commission deliberated Friday morning about various redistricting plans that would reduce the current number of nine commission members to eight and as low as five members. Ultimately a plan that reduces the commission to six members was voted in, it will go into effect for 2012 elections. The county will save about $20,000 for each seat removed from the commission, but that savings is not said to be the driving force behind this decision.
There were different opinions within the Apportionment Commission as to whether it was more important to best follow the legal statutes, or to adjust the district lines in a way that might better serve the public through additional representatives.
"I'm a lawyer, I take an oath of office," says Chair of the Apportionment Commission Board, Gary Walker. "My oath of office says that I am to support the law and the constitution. For me, public opinion is not the driving force, it is following the statutes."
Some on the board wished to avoid significantly reducing the amount of county commissioners.
"I'm not opposed to the idea of shrinking (the amount of commission members)," says Apportionment Commission member and Chair of Marquette County Republicans Dan Adamini. "I thought seven was as low as I was comfortable with myself, but the numbers were what they were, and the committee was was it was. I guess six is better than five."
Commission member and Chair of the Marquette County Democrats Ben Bohnsack created the six-district plan as well as several other alternative ideas.
"I would have preferred a higher number, yet when it came down to the alternatives we had before us, it seemed like the best way to go," says Bohnsack.
Several members of the public commented before and after the proceedings that they were disappointed with the lack of public knowledge of two previous meetings the Apportionment Commission held.
"As the leader of a community, I find out about this a day before this hearing, after a motion has already been made to approve this plan," said Marquette City Mayor John Kivela during the public comment period. "Every decision in government should be fair and transparent, and this has been neither... Let's not kid ourselves, this is about politics at it's very worst."
The board voiced concerns about districting changes that would split counties or townships. Such changes do not necessarily meet the legal statutes of redistricting and could potentially create confusion at the election polls. The new redistricting plan does create one such split in Marquette Township.
"When you carve out an area of Marquette and put it into an area such as Negaunee, who as the overwhelming advantage? It doesn't make sense for a city that has an increased population growth to lose representation," said Kivela after the vote. "I think this board has failed in actively engaging communities and municipalities. I think a blatant disregard for any types of rules in this proceeding itself would be grounds for appeal."
The redistricting plan will go into effect late 2012.
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The Marquette County Apportionment Commission voted in favor of redrawing the district lines on Friday morning.
The number of Marquette County commissioners will be reduced from nine to six. The commission exchanged ideas and comments for over an hour before passing a vote.
Public comment was held prior to the commission's decision, but several citizens voiced displeasure with the committee decision and lack of public notice regarding the vote.
We will post updated information when our TV6 reporter returns from the meeting with information from commission members and Marquette County residents.
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