The Majority-Minority District Question
Redistricting proposal raises question: Can minorities win elections without specially drawn districts?
More than a decade ago, the Baltimore County Council had never had an African-American member.
It was during the redistricting effort following the 2000 Census that the County Council created the 4th Council District in northwest Baltimore County, establishing the county's first majority-minority district.
A decade later, the council faces another redistricting effort, and some, including county Republican Central Committee Chairman Tony Campbell, are calling for a second such district to be added.
Campbell's comments during a redistricting commission meeting last night were the second time this month that a resident has asked for another majority-minority district in the county.
Al Mendelsohn, first vice chairman of the county Republican Central Committee, wrote on my Facebook page this morning that Democrats would have some explaining to do if they rejected this idea. (By the way, you can join the conversation on my Facebook page and follow me on Twitter.)
Mendelsohn also suggested that drawing such districts are the only way minorities can win elections.
Here's what Mendelsohn wrote:
"By creating majority minority districts you preserve established communities like Towson and Randallstown. You group people of similar political opinions because of shared history. If this were to happen the deliberate dilution of the Republican vote in the First Council district would allow the seat to be won by a qualified Republican like Steve Whisler. If the Democrats do not go along with this blueprint, they will have to explain to the 55% of their party in Baltimore County that is either Black or Hispanic why they can only win in one Primary in Baltimore County."
Of course there are other views.
David Greene testified last night that drawing such districts is incompatible with the law, which states that new districts should be drawn with an eye toward keeping communities together as much as possible.
"There's conflict between keeping communities united and minority majority districts," Greene told the commission. "You can't have one and the other."
Does the county need a second majority-minority district? Is this the only way minority candidates can get elected to county offices? Are such districts incompatible with the mandate that districts try and keep communities together?
Tell us in the comments.
Bruce Kahl
11:30 pm on Friday, April 29, 2011
Amazing how we lose focus so quickly
Mike Pierce
10:56 am on Saturday, April 30, 2011
It is wrong for any redistricting decisions to be made on the basis of race, religion, etc. Somehow, I thought that was the law of the land. Community boundaries are the most important criteria.
LT guy
12:56 pm on Saturday, April 30, 2011
EVEN for AFRICAN AMERICANS, There are many downsides to majority-minority districts,
1. During close elections, few candidates will campaign vigorously in them.
2. They let Dems take blacks for granted.
3. They tend to be safe districts. And safe districts lead to arrogance and corruption, whether the legislator is black, white, or whatever. Ken Oliver was charged with 2 campaign finance felonies. He pled guilty to lesser charges to save his pension, but I don't think he ever gave an adequate explanation to voters.
Minority legislators tend to hit a ceiling, partly because their districts are not diverse. They are not battle-tested in politically diverse geographies, which hurts their chances in higher offices. Also, their minority-focused voting records can easily be used against them in county-wide or statewide races by centrist or right-wing candidates.
5. When minority voters are packed into a small number of districts, pols in the remaining districts become less attuned to minority issues. It's just a new kind of virtual ghetto.
At some point in the next 10 or 20 years it's likely that Caucasians will become a minority in the Baltimore County. As a non-minority myself, the idea of being herded into a majority-minority white district at some point in the future gives me the creeps.
rod hart
9:15 pm on Saturday, July 7, 2012
I wonder when someone won a county-wide election without carrying the majority Black district? It's all about working toward the betterment of a community. It does'nt matter if the majority in a particular is Black.
Tom Henry
4:21 pm on Monday, May 2, 2011
LT, Mike Pierce,
I agree with you. It's sad that this further demonstrates the lengths to which some in the Republican party (which is supposed to be one of inclusion) will go to have the appearance of "reaching-out", and anyone who dares disagree with it may be labeled a racist. This was (in my opinion) a badly-framed argument, that will not garner more Republican votes come election day.
BCResidentObserver
10:06 am on Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Another genius idea from the Baltimore County Fake Conservative Central Committee, run by Democrats.
reyhfs
9:16 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
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