Dems making a big mistake on redistricting reform

Here's a portion of my latest column for Dome Magazine:

The Dems who took the lead (on redistricting) called for establishing a nonpartisan process of shaping objective borders for districts that largely determine the outcome of elections for Congress and the Legislature.

But the Democrats are making a colossal mistake.

Cynical voters will reject any plan that carries the taint of one political party perceptibly trying to gain a permanent advantage over the other. If an election reform plan will have any chance of working its way onto the ballot through a petition drive and winning a majority of the Michigan electorate, it must bear the credibility of an earnest, good-government effort at changing our politics for the better.
The Supreme Court declared that independent commissions can replace the slightly sleazy practice of having state legislators from the majority party carve out their preferred territory on the map. Under that long-held, incumbent-fortification scam, the politicians choose their voters, rather than the voters choosing their politicians. This is cartographic malpractice that produces an illegitimate distribution of power.

Any redistricting reform attempt in Michigan should be led by the League of Women Voters, the nonpartisan, civic-minded group with a sterling reputation earned over many decades. The LWV has already called for an end to the politically manipulated process that creates “safe” districts to keep the ruling party in charge.

You can read more here.