6 | DECEMBER 9 • 2021

I

am a member
of the Michigan
Independent
Citizens Redistricting
Commission. As
you may be aware,
the Commission is
responsible for draw-
ing the U.S. Congressional, State
House and State Senate maps for
the State of Michigan.
The Commission has proposed
several maps for comment by the
public, with the
intention of adopt-
ing one of each
type of map at the
end of December
(Dec. 28-Dec. 30).
The Commission
has proposed two
maps (the Chestnut
and the Birch v2) for the U.S.
Congressional districts that divide
Oakland County very differently.
The Commission’s proposed maps
have been given tree names to
assist the public in identifying the
maps.
The Commission has received
very limited feedback from

either Oakland County or from
Jewish communities of interest in
Oakland County that may desire
being grouped together. I believe
this feedback is needed in order to
evaluate the draft proposed maps.
One proposed U.S.
Congressional map (the
“Chestnut”) removes Southfield,
Lathrup Village, Franklin,
Bingham Farms and Beverly
Hills from Oakland County and
places them into a primarily
Wayne County district, consisting
of the communities of Detroit,
Dearborn, Dearborn Heights,
Redford, Inkster, Westland and

Garden City.
The
other U.S.
Congressional
map (the
“Birch”) places
Southfield,
Franklin,
Lathrup Village, Bingham Farms
and Beverly Hills into an Oakland
County-centric district with
Farmington Hills, Farmington,
West Bloomfield and Bloomfield
Township together with other
Oakland County communities.
The Birch map also places Oak
Park and Huntington Woods
together in a separate district with
the remaining Oakland County
communities, including Rochester
and Troy, along with portions of
Macomb County.
I am actively seeking public
feedback regarding the proposed
maps. Readers can provide com-
ments and feedback on the maps
before the end of December.
I am particularly interested in
feedback regarding the Chestnut’s
Southfield-area/Dearborn-area
combination vs. the Birch v2’s

Southfield placement. Any feed-
back will assist me in evaluating
which maps are the most appro-
priate for approval.
Comments can be provided in
several ways, including via our
public comment portal at www.
michigan.gov/micrc. On that
same page, individuals can click
on the “Proposed Maps” link to be
taken to the list of proposed maps.
Comments can be “dropped”
directly on the individual pro-
posed maps following those links.
In addition, all of the maps are
available at the following link:
https://michigan.mydistricting.
com/legdistricting/michigan/com-
ment_links. Both the Chestnut
and Birch v2 are accessible under
the U.S. Congressional tab.
I request that any feedback or
comments be submitted either
on the public comment portal
or the maps themselves so that
all Commissioners will receive
them.

Rebecca Szetela is a commissioner
with the Michigan Independent Citizens
Redistricting Commission.

Rebecca
Szetela

PURELY COMMENTARY

1942 - 2021

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