12 November 2021 — 1200 & 1848 mdt

MRD votes to file map with MT SecST

Redistricting commission defers to county commissioners, adopts original Map 12’s congressional district boundaries

Today’s 39-minute Zoom meeting of Montana’s redistricting commission ended with unamended Republican congressional Map 12 approved and a decision made to file the map with Montana’s Secretary of State. The filing deadline is 14 November.

After hearing public comments, the commission’s chair, Maylinn Smith, opened discussion on the map. GOP commissioner Jeff Essmann moved to repeal the amendment to Map 12 that the commission approved on 9 November. Smith voted for Essmann’s motion, which passed 3–2.

Yesterday, Pondera County’s commissioners sent the redistricting commissioners a letter asking the redistricting commission to repeal the amendment, which put the Blackfeet reservation in the western district and the rest of Pondera County in the eastern district.

I thought the Pondera commissioners’ arguments were weak to the point of being frivolous. So did commissioners Lamson and Miller, with Miller noting only one precinct was involved. Lamson said the county dealt with changing districts on a regular basis and had the expertise to make the adjustments with ease.

But Smith reversed course and sided with the county commissioners. Her switcheroo surprised me. She deferred to the commissioners to the extent she gave them a de facto veto on the map.

After the amendment was repealed, Essmann moved to name the eastern district as District 1, the opposite of the district names on the map. Lamson argued we read left to right, suggesting that naming the eastern district was a backhanded attempt to honor “the worst U.S. Representative in Montana’s history.” Lamson’s accurate characterization of Matt Rosendale drew protests from the commission’s Republican members, but Essmann’s motion failed when Smith joined with Lamson and Miller to kill it.

The commission then approved a motion to adopt Map 12 as Montana’s congressional districts, and a subsequent motion to file the map with Montana’s Secretary of State.

At the conclusion of the meeting, a visibly weary and stressed Smith bemoaned the acrimonious tenor of some comments from the public, and pleaded for civility going forward.

I’ve been going through the written comments, there are more than a thousand. Most are civil, but a disturbing number heap calumnies on the redistricting commissioners, and others are unhinged. Here are a few examples:

Legislative redistricting is next, and it will be considerably more difficult and contentious than drawing the new congressional districts.

Montana’s Republican got what they wanted. They will not sue to have the map ruled illegal. Whether Democrats will is an open question. They’re angry, discouraged, and evincing a “We wuz robbed” attitude. I’m sure some leaders in the Montana Democratic Party believe there’s an equal protection case that the districts are not sufficiently competitive. I’m not convinced that such a claim would win in court.

The MDP’s best option: accept Map12, raise a riverboat full of dollars, and work like hell to win the western district next year.