DELEGATE HOLMES IN THE NEWS

Bowie leaders worry about losing clout because of redistricting

The Washington Post, Virginia Terhune on January 5, 2012
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Bowie’s mayor is worried that the city of 55,000 could lose political influence in Annapolis if the governor and legislators approve boundary changes that could cut the number of state delegates who live in the city from two to one.

“The concern is that it would dilute Bowie’s influence in the legislature,” said Bowie Mayor G. Frederick Robinson, who spoke at a hearing last month in Annapolis on proposed changes to the two subdistricts in District 23 prepared by an advisory redistricting committee for Gov. Martin O’Malley. O’Malley (D) is expected to present the committee’s proposal with possible changes to the Maryland General Assembly when it convenes Wednesday for its 90-day session.

 

District boundary changes using 2010 Census data are needed to ensure equal populations for each of the state’s legislative districts going into the next statewide elections in 2014.

The committee’s proposal would cut District 23A almost in half to 41,000 residents while cutting the number of delegates from two to one. At the same time, it would double the size of 23B to 79,000 residents and increase the numer of delegates from one to two.

Robinson said he and the Bowie City Council would prefer that the proposal eliminate the two subdistricts, enabling all three district delegates to run at-large.

“It’s a relatively easy fix, and it doesn’t hurt any other district,” Robinson said.

The proposed redrawn map takes into account significant population growth in Southern Maryland, legislators said.

District 27, which borders the southern end of District 23, would extend farther south in Calvert County and push 23 farther south past Upper Marlboro.

Jeanne Hitchcock, who headed the advisory committee, and Joe Bryce, the governor’s chief legislative officer, could not be reached for comment by press time about the rationale for keeping the subdistricts.

District 23A, most of it north and west of Route 50 in Bowie, is represented by Democratic delegates James Hubbard and Geraldine Valentino-Smith, who both live in the city.

District 23B, most of which is south of Route 50, is represented by Marvin Holmes (D), who lives in Kettering outside of the city.

Under the proposed change, District 23A would lose most of its Bowie neighborhoods east of Route 197 to District 23B; it also would lose Fairwood, Woodmore, Glenn Dale and Lanham-Seabrook west of Bowie to a redrawn District 24.

Meanwhile, District 23B would pick up the former 23B neighborhoods and extend south of Upper Marlboro to include Marlton and west to Melwood and the Joint Base Andrews area, which is in District 27A.

The new area south of Upper Marlboro, which would become part of District 23B, is represented by Del. Joseph F. Vallario Jr. (D) of Upper Marlboro.

Hubbard said he thinks the redrawn districts are unfair to Bowie, adding that keeping the subdistricts would pit him against Valentino-Smith in the next election, leaving one less delegate living in the city.

“I think the plan stinks,” Hubbard said about the possible effect on 23A and Bowie, the state’s fifth-largest municipality.

Meanwhile, the likelihood of a non-Bowie resident being elected increases in 23B because it now covers a lot more territory outside of Bowie.

Like Hubbard, Valentino-Smith said she supports going back to an at-large system. “I understand the concerns raised by the mayor and the City of Bowie, and I hope the governor’s redistricting advisory committee will take them under consideration.”

Holmes, who already represents Bowie south of Route 50, said that although he lives in Kettering that he would continue to support Bowie’s interests.

“In my opinion, the fear of not having someone who lives in the city is unfounded,” he said.

Holmes said Vallario, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee and has 40 years of General Assembly experience, would add to the district’s clout in Annapolis should he choose to run in the newly drawn 23B.

Vallario said he sometimes shops in Bowie and also knows Bowie residents through his work as a lawyer in the Upper Marlboro courthouse.

“With Delegate Holmes, I think we could do a terrific job, with the two of us both working together,” Vallario said.

State Sen. Douglas J.J. Peters (D-Prince George’s) said that as senator, he already runs at-large and would not be affected by the delegate subdistricts.

“It’s not much of a change for me,” said Peters, who would keep about 85 percent of his district if the proposed map is approved but would lose the Fairwood, Woodmore, Glenn Dale and Lanham-Seabrook communities west of Bowie, which are in 23A.

He also said that District 23 had grown in population beyond the 113,000 allowed per district in 2002, which is why some of the rapidly growing communities west of Bowie were moved out of 23 in the proposal.

To view the committee’s proposed map, go to www.mdp.state.md.us/redistricting.