Former Detroit lawmaker torches Michigan House redistricting plans as ‘fit for the garbage’

A group on Tuesday pushed back against the independent redistricting panel’s proposed state House maps and offered their own geographic boundaries that have been endorsed by the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus. 

The Detroit press conference featured former Democratic state lawmakers Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, LaMar Lemmons, Virgil K. Smith, Virgil Smith, Shanelle Jackson, Jimmy Womack and LaTanya Garrett, as well as others including Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell. The event was held at St. John and St. Luke Church in the Lafayette Park community. 

As the result of a federal court decision, the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) has been holding public sessions and placing forward new maps for seven state House districts in metro Detroit. It has proposed 10 maps for the public to consider. 

Gay-Dagnogo, who serves on the Detroit Board of Education, called the MICRC proposals “fit for the garbage” and said they “further gerrymanders” Detroit. The group would like a map that would keep districts within the city of Detroit proper and have a high percentage of African-American voters. 

MICRC Executive Director Edward Woods did not return a request for comment.

The MICRC was given a Feb. 2 deadline to submit to the court the proposed new maps for the seven state House districts which include the Grosse Pointe and St. Clair Shores suburbs; Downriver; Detroit; and parts of Oakland and Macomb counties. They are now available for public comment through Friday.

The order to redraw the districts was made Dec. 21 by a panel of three federal judges which determined that the MICRC diluted Black voting power in Detroit with new voting maps drawn in 2021, violating the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by predominantly drawing several voting districts on the basis of race. The lawsuit that led to the court order was filed in March 2022 by a group of Black metro Detroit voters. 

Finalized maps will be used for elections this year, with the six state Senate maps ordered to be redrawn ahead of the 2026 election.

The MICRC will adopt the final maps by March 1 so they can then be submitted to the three-judge panel for review. The court can then accept the maps, or use its own expert to devise an alternate plan that fits within the VRA. Either way, the expectation is that the new House maps will be implemented by March 29, so that an April 23 filing deadline can be met for candidates seeking election to the new districts.

“It’s been totally egregious what we’ve seen in the past few months,” said Natalie Bien-Aime, a plaintiff in the lawsuit against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and the MICRC centered on the restricting process.   

The 10 proposed MICRC maps: