Stand up, speak out

An article by An SCN Reader    2 Comments

From former Oakland County commissioner Eric Coleman, Southfield:

A famous quote by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. says, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” The recent actions by Republican leaders in Oakland County and the state of Michigan to strip voters of their rights and to ostracize elected officials because of their minority party status invokes an unacceptable resemblance to Apartheid. It is time to stand up and speak out against these acts.

County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has incorporated senseless logic and a total lack of civility in purposefully not inviting the Democratic county commissioners to the State of the County address. Patterson’s published reasoning states, “These guys have a lawsuit against me, so to hell with them. If they’re going to treat me like that, I don’t want them there” (Detroit Free Press, Jan. 31, 2012). He went on to say, “When they sued, my lawyer said to have nothing to do with them, so I’m having nothing to do with them, that’s all,” (Oakland Press, Feb. 3, 2012). This apparently refers to the lawsuit against Public Act 280 of 2011 (House Bill 5187) which retroactively and unconstitutionally changed the rules for redrawing the lines for county commission districts only for Oakland County.

As one of the named plaintiffs in this lawsuit, it is important to state the truth. There is only one current Democratic commissioner who is a party in the lawsuit. Further, the defendants are identified as Gov. Rick Snyder and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners. It is totally disingenuous to purposefully exclude the Democratic commissioners on the basis that they are suing the county executive.

It is most unfortunate and disappointing that the county executive is exhibiting the ultimate act of “bullying” behavior. This is the very behavior that we teach small children not to engage in: Taking what you want, with total disregard and lack of respect for the rights of others.

Regarding the reapportionment of Oakland County’s commission districts: There is a legal process in place, the process was followed and upheld in court. If a law was truly warranted to change the process for redrawing the lines for commission districts, why isn’t it being forced upon all 83 counties in Michigan?

The “after the fact” effort to change the redistricting laws in order to benefit a select group and the purposeful act of denigrating the Democratic commissioners each share something in common — (1) a wanton disregard for Oakland County’s elected officials, (2) a disrespect for voters and their rights to representation, (3) a disregard for democratic principles, and, (4) a total lack of civility.

The true intention of the redistricting process is to allow voters a realistic opportunity to elect people who are from and accountable to communities with shared interests. This is to allow each community to be fairly represented in government.

The Brennan Center defines Gerrymandering as the manipulation of district lines to affect political power; a conscious attempt to draw district lines specifically to increase the likelihood of a particular political result. This occurs when those drawing the lines try to ensure that the political party holds on to the districts it already controls, effectively divvying up the state to preserve the partisan status quo.

The bottom line is that what is occurring in Oakland County is an overt act to strip voters of the right to truly elect a person of their choice. When elected county commissioners of the majority party are allowed to cherry-pick the precincts in their district, the outcome of elections is heavily biased, if not outright predetermined, by those who have drawn the district line in their own favor.

This is unquestionably a time of challenge and controversy … and a time to take a stand.