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Cass County apportionment committee hears comment on voter maps following appeals court decision

The Michigan Court of Appeals determined that Cass County's commission maps were non-contiguous since portions of one district were completely surrounded by other districts, a violation of state law.
Michigan Court Of Appeals
The Michigan Court of Appeals determined that Cass County's commission maps were non-contiguous since portions of one district were completely surrounded by other districts, a violation of state law.

The Cass County apportionment committee met Friday for the first time since the Michigan Court of Appeals struck down the voter maps it drew for the Cass County Commission.

Cassopolis resident Jim Pedersen sued the committee late last year. His petition claimed that the new maps were gerrymandered since they split Dowagiac — the county’s largest community — into two districts.

While the court didn’t make a firm decision on whether the maps were drawn for partisan gain, it determined that the districts weren’t contiguous and remanded them to the apportionment committee.

“If the Commission should again select an apportionment plan that divides Dowagiac on remand, we instruct the Commission to explain how that split was necessary to meet the population requirements and preserve the integrity of other municipal boundaries,” the court opinion reads.

Committee members heard public comment Friday morning, including from Dowagiac resident Diane Barrett-Curtis.

“Dowagiac is the only city in the county, and has a minority population of almost 30 percent, compared to the county minority population of about 11 percent,” she said. “Dividing the city clearly dilutes the minority vote.”

Former Dowagiac City Councilman and Cass County Commissioner Andy Anderson said he didn’t believe the split was made to dilute the minority vote or “weaken the Democratic Party’s influence in the area.”

However, he said that Dowagiac is a “unique entity.”

“This will be the first time that Cass County and the city of Dowagiac will not have the potential of having a commissioner from within the city limits,” Anderson said. “I wish you would reconsider and put the city of Dowagiac into one commission district.”

The apportionment committee is made up of county treasurer Hope Anderson, prosecuting attorney Victor Fitz, Republican Party chair Mark Howie, Democratic Party chair Naomi Ludman and clerk/register Monica McMichael, who serves as chairperson.

Fitz said the committee would postpone further decisions about the map until the group can meet with an attorney.

“This is a legal opinion some 12 pages long, and… it’s not as simple as it might sound,” he said. “We want to keep this moving for everybody involved, but I think that haste can make waste if we try to do things without getting counsel from our attorney.”

Fitz said the committee hopes to meet with an attorney early next week and will schedule another public meeting after that.