the Massachusetts Current 10, down to 9, the main players in the West: bottom row left to right: McGovern(MA3), Neal (MA2), (Keating)and Olver (MA1) photo Boston Herald
Massachusetts Redistricting is underway, with the new proposed “district maps” drawn up for the Commonwealths Legislature, Senate and Governors Council – the Federal Congressional Districts are still up for debate. Considering that the 10 House Seats, held by either High Profile Democrat power brokers, or plain old reliable party line votes in the House, must be condensed into nine districts, the options of which of the Democrats would be cut has been the subject of much speculation. This speculation is ongoing as no final plans or even proposed maps are, as of yet, available. In Massachusetts however, the power center is in the East, with the Western part of the Commonwealth left on its own, for the most part, all but ignored unless an election year is on hand, or one of the more vocal Representatives, such as Richard Neal (D-2) is touting the latest Federal Grant to the area.
One in Boston might look at the Western Mass in terms of Virginia and West Virginia, while those in the Western End, often offer up consideration for just such a scenario – basically tired of paying taxes to Boston for underrepresentation, and use of resources to aid the East. That said, when it comes time to redistrict, which is based on an ever declining population (U.S. Census 2010), the natural course of conversation went, not to Congressional District Heavy Eastern Massachusetts, but to the three districts that make up the Central and Western ends of the State.
There have been proposals that have been spoken of in the halls of the State’s Legislature and Committee meetings on the subject, but to date, nothing has been finalized.
One thing is certain, one of the Districts must go, and that choice may not be so difficult now with the announced retirement of one John Olver, Democrat from the MA First District. The announcement came yesterday, (Reuters), a statement was released by Olver’s spokesman – Olver has held office since 1991, over the largest district in the Commonwealth in land mass - not population. This offers a clean solution to the conundrum of the redistricting conundrum, and would put to rest the rumored proposal of a combination of the first and third district, with Olver and fellow Democrat McGovern, vying for the same seat. Richard Neal, (D-MA2) would be, for all intents and purposes, left alone, given his standing in the House, where he sits on the powerful, taxing, House Ways and Means Committee. Prior to the landslide Republican Victory in 2010, Neal sought the Chair of the Committee, however, that Chair was given to Sanders of Michigan – the decision made by Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the House. With the plan in place to take back the House (at some point in the next decade), Democrats would be loath to lose Neal, who is one of the most reliable, if not the most reliable Democrat in the building, and who works the Ways and Means Committee to the best taxing advantage possible.
Looking at the current map and the manner in which the distinct is currently drawn, The MA1st, takes up the majority of the land mass west of Springfield, which the large population areas of Springfield up to Northampton carved into the 2nd District (in a boot shape), and the Central Mass District, (MA3), surrounded by both the MA 2 and the Eastern Districts. Understanding that these Districts are drawn based on population and politics, Massachusetts defines Gerrymandering, taking pieces of the 1st and merging them within the MA 2 and MA 3 districts makes sense. Just how the Democrats on Beacon Hill plan to carve up this turkey is anyone’s guess, however, in looking at the current map (shown below), one would think that a natural course would be to merge parts of the 1st into both the 2nd and 3rd districts, and possible moving smaller population zones, or those cities that may vote on non Democrat line into the 3rd, replacing those with equal population areas that are more heavily concentrated in population. Outside of Pittsfield in the West and Greenfield to the North in the MA 1, there is more land mass than potential voters, therefore, literally cutting the district in two, and merging the upper half with the MA 3 and the lower or parts thereof, with the 2nd, would solidify both Neal and McGovern’s positions. It is difficult to imagine that Neal will not come away with any additional population from the 1st, all things being allegedly equal in the redistricting game – What one can be sure of, is that the final map will appear as ridiculously misshapen as the map shown below, with districts, cutting into one another, surrounding one another, and or jutting in and out of one another, with the ups and downs of the population.
With the time it has taken to carve up the state, little time is left between the final plan and the filing date for those who wish to run against any of the Incumbents - August 28th 2012 is the last date to file as a Congressional Candidate, the primary to be held on September 18th 2012, and the Election on November 6, 2012 (Secretary of State’s office). Therefore, a candidate who intends to run for Congress, against one of the remaining nine incumbents, will have approximately one month to campaign, ensuring that Massachusetts voters will not enjoy a ballot that offers choices in the Federal Congressional Race. 2010 was a rare occurrence, where nine of the ten incumbents faced challengers and had to actively campaign for their seats. It remains to be seen how many challengers will rise to the occasion in this shortened and almost impossible scenario. It appears that, once again, Massachusetts voters will have to opt for Disney and Warner Brothers characters as write-in should they disagree with the only choice on the ballot. Thus is the nature of the “People’s Republic of Massachusetts”.
See the current Massachusetts District Map Below:
Current Map of the MA Congressional Districts, via Malegsilature.gov/district
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