Plan adds House district to local area
The House legislative redistricting plan for the area of Thisweek Newspapers' coverage area.
House passes its legislative redistricting plan
by T.W. Budig
ECM Capitol reporter
The House passed on Friday, May 6 its legislative redistricting plan on a 69-to-58 vote, with lawmakers in the House alcoves and retiring room studying maps of the 201 redrawn legislative districts.
The plan gives the cities in Thisweek Newspapers’ coverage area one more state representative, squeezing it into a full senate district for Burnsville and portions of Lakeville and Savage. (To view an interactive plan map, click here.)
Burnsville’s House District 40A is currently paired with 40B in Bloomington to the north.
The plan divides Lakeville in a new way.
Currently most of Lakeville is in House District 36A, while a southeast corner is in 36B. The new plan puts a northcentral portion of Lakeville in a district with Burnsville, which has tended to lean more Democratic in past elections than the rest of Dakota County.
Another northeast portion of Lakeville is attached to a house district with Apple Valley, which would drop a portion of southern Burnsville that is in the current 37A.
The rest of the map has some changes for Eagan, Rosemount and Farmington.
Eagan will comprise most of a new senate district with two house districts.
Apple Valley and Rosemount will share a senate district, with the east portion of Apple Valley remaining in a house district with Rosemount.
Farmington and the rural areas to its south and east will remain in a house district that is part of a senate district with most of Lakeville.
The question whether the courts, rather than lawmakers, ultimately will redraw the state’s political map necessitated by the U.S. Census remains open with some lawmakers.
House Tax Committee Chairman Greg Davids, R-Preston, while endorsing the efforts of the redistricting committee, said redistricting would “most likely” be settled in the courts.
Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, an attorney who serves on the House Redistricting Committee, criticized the redistricting plan.
Hortman charged that committee Chairwoman Sarah Anderson, R-Plymouth, had been unwilling to answer some of her questions, perhaps because she was an attorney and Anderson thought she was trying to trick her.
Hortman further suggested Republicans in drawing the map gerrymandered — drew “weird lines” in the Rochester area — to create districts favorable to Republican incumbents.
“To me it looks like a pretty Republican map,” Hortman said.
Rep. Paul Marquart, DFL-Dilworth, said Democrats set to out to create “The People’s Map,” and criticized Republicans for too speedily moving the redistricting process along.
Anderson countered by saying Democrats had offered two suggestions to her, and she used both of them.
“I’m very proud of this plan,” Anderson said.
It upholds the Voting Rights Act, she said.
The redrawn districts are compact, sensible, and “preserve counties, cities and townships, and they maintain communities of interest,” she said.
The Senate has not yet brought forth a redistricting plan.
Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has indicated he’ll look for bipartisan support in judging the merits of a redistricting plan.
The House redistricting plan passed Friday does not include congressional boundaries.
That will be addressed separately.
Additional reporting by Tad Johnson. T.W. Budig is at tim.budig@ecm-inc.com.
