Redistricting Will Likely Go to Court, UMBC Prof Says

Baltimore County community organizations are sending letters to Gov. Martin O’Malley and other public officials, urging them to reconsider the .

The reality is, the letters at this point won't do much good, according to O'Malley officials and a public policy expert. The next step could take the fight to court, according to Donald Norris, chairman of the Department of Public Policy at UMBC.

“Somebody somewhere is going to be annoyed enough with these districts to do something about it to take it to court,” Norris said.

Community leaders said they are dismayed that the politicians who they’ve worked tightly with over the last 10 years might no longer have a say in plans for the future regarding issues such as the and . The changes wouldn’t take effect until the 2014 election.

“We have to make it known as to our feelings about the new districts,” said Calvin Reter, a longtime Reisterstown and Owings Mills activist and Reisterstown Improvement Association board member. “It disregards communities.”

These letters, which also make the case that the plan divides rather than unifies communities, will probably not make a difference in the final outcome, Norris said.

“Since most of this work is done behind closed doors, very surreptitiously, and once the plan is submitted, that’s a signal that all the important actors have signed off on it, it is unlikely any of the letters will make a difference,” Norris said. “It’s more or less a done deal.”

The Reisterstown Improvement Association will pen a letter in opposition to the state redistricting plan, following in the footsteps of the and Chartley Homeowners Association, both of which have written letters and are urging members to write and send their own.

The governor’s redistricting plan, which automatically passes on Feb. 24 if the Maryland General Assembly does not act, changes things quite a bit in Reisterstown and Owings Mills. For one, it moves most of Reisterstown into District 10. It also creates several hybrid districts that cross county lines and one that crosses the Baltimore county-city line.

“Reisterstown and Owings Mills have been working closely in promoting new schools and redevelopment of failing business entities and would find the proposed legislative district boundaries to be an impediment to our ongoing efforts,” ROG’s letter said. The Chartley Homeowners Association’s letter is almost identical.

Del. Dan Morhaim, D-11, said he stands with community organizations and encouraged ROG members to send letters.

“There’s a lot in this redistricting plan that we’re not happy with because of how it affects the communities we represent and live in,” he said at a ROG meeting in January.

Although residents and some lawmakers like Morhaim are impassioned in their opposition, a spokesperson for Gov. Martin O’Malley also said that the letters won’t make a difference at this point.

“There’s been a several-months process where we had public hearings and the governor had public hearings,” said Raquel Guillory, a spokesperson for the governor.

The governor’s Office of Constituent Services, which has a staff of eight, handles incoming letters, emails and phone calls. Guillory said a total of 29 letters came from Baltimore County about state redistricting.

The governor does read some letters personally, but his constituent services staff makes sure to give him a fair, general representation of what people are saying, she said. The office also makes sure every letter, email and phone call gets a response, Guillory said.

In 2002, the Maryland’s Court of Appeals rejected Gov. Parris Glendening’s redistricting plan, saying it violated Maryland’s constitution, and came up with a plan of its own.

Norris said that even in court, letters won’t impact the outcome, but the court will consider whether or not the proposed district boundaries are necessary and if they violate state law.

“They will not have any impact on the courts at all,” Norris said of the letters. “The court’s going to look at the factual matters.”