Michigan redistricting commission to meet Thursday after legal setback, resignations

LANSING — Michigan's redistricting commission is to hold a special meeting Thursday, following a major legal setback and the resignations of three commissioners.

Items for discussion Thursday include an update on a lawsuit that struck down as unconstitutional more than a dozen of the new districts the commission drew, the contract for the commission's executive director, Edward Woods III, and another special meeting planned for Jan. 11, according to an agenda posted late Wednesday on the commission website.

Three new commissioners will be randomly selected Jan. 3 from a pool of semifinalist applicants, the Michigan Department of State said in a news release. The 3:30 p.m. selection that day will be livestreamed and conducted by Rehmann LLC, the consulting firm that conducted the previous selections.

The 13-member Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, created as a result of a 2018 vote to amend the state constitution, is composed of four Democrats, four Republicans, and five commissioners who are not affiliated with either party.

Resignation of 'this weary soul'

Two commissioners resigned Tuesday — Democrat M.C. Rothhorn and Republican Douglas Clark. A third, Democrat Dustin Witjes, resigned Dec. 20. No commission action is required for the resignations to take effect.

"It is my sincere wish to place the burden and joys of service with the next commission," Rothhorn said in his letter of resignation.

"I trust another person with fresh legs, and fresh reasoning will be able to do more democratic debate, and drawing than this weary soul."

Clark cited health issues in his letter.

"My health has seriously deteriorated and I continue to need additional support from my family," Clark wrote. "These health conditions and continued support from my family are of utmost importance to me."

Witjes had moved to Illinois, making him no longer eligible to serve.

"I leave my position with a heavy heart but the knowledge that the commission is comprised of dedicated individuals who will continue the vital work of promoting fairness and representation if called to again draw district maps through outcomes of pending litigation," Witjes wrote in his letter of resignation.

Commission's district maps struck down in court

The redistricting commission has not said whether it will appeal a Dec. 21 federal court ruling that struck down a significant portion of its map-drawing work.

In response to a lawsuit brought by Detroit voters, a three-judge panel ruled that more than a dozen state legislative maps running through the majority-Black city are unconstitutional because race predominated in Michigan's first-ever citizen-led mapping process.

The maps must be redrawn and no more elections can be held under the current lines, the panel ordered. The judicial appointees of former President George W. Bush, a Republican, directed the parties in the case to appear before the court in January to discuss how to redraw the lines.

They ruled that the 13 metro Detroit maps at issue in the case were drawn in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits drawing district lines on the basis of race.

It's not clear exactly what role the commission will have in drawing new maps.

Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, a former state lawmaker who is a spokeswoman for the Detroit plaintiffs, said at a Wednesday news conference the court should appoint an expert attorney known as a "special master" to assist with drawing the new lines.

"We can't depend on the commission," she said at the news conference in Detroit, a video of which she posted on Facebook.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan redistricting commission to meet Thursday after legal setback