COULD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT GERRYMANDERING
FACTOR INTO HOW STARK COUNTIANS VOTE
IN CORDRAY V. DEWINE?
In November, 2015 Stark County voters voted overwhelmingly to re-district Ohio's "state" legislative districts so as to approximate our U.S./Ohio "constitutional" one-person, one-vote standard.
On May 8, 2018 Stark Countians followed up the 2015 with an even more resounding vote that congressional districts be moved from an out-and-out partisan (popularly know as "gerrymandering") configuring of congressional districts into more competitive and hence closer to the ideal constitutional standard.
Only problem is with the May 8, 2018 vote is that it will be the 2022 election until new districts (presumably more competitive/constitutional) would be in place.
News broke about 15 hours or so in perhaps Ohio's very best newspaper for political/government reporting (i.e. The Cleveland Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com) that a lawsuit filed May 23rd of this year (see this LINK also) has reached the point that a "new" more competitive, hence constitutional map has been filed with the U.S. District Court for Southern Ohio (located in Cincinnati) which has the promise uniting Stark County into what has been numbered the 14th Congressional District.
Of particular interest to Stark Countians is that a citizen, a local Ohio House legislator and a candidate for lieutenant governor are players in the federal lawsuit.
Moreover, one has to figure that Stark Countian and Ohio Republican Party chairperson Jane Timken is lurking in the political background opposing the move by the Ohio League of Women Voters and the A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI; see history at this LINK).
Getting back to the citizen, the legislator and to the lieutenant governor candidate.
CITIZEN: CONNIE RUBIN
While she is a thorough going Democrat (this blogger has moved on to becoming (2008) a registered "independent" with the beginning of the SCPR in March, 2008), Rubin is one of those partisans (on the Republican side somewhat like Stark County commissioner Janet Creighton) that The Report can abide because of having assessment that when the quality of our democratic-republic is at stake, they often step forward advance the integrity of our political system over political party interests.
Jane Timken evokes no such confidence.
Ms. Rubin has been a member of the Canton League of Women Voters (CLWV) but according to current listing of the organization not part of the officialdom if a member at all.
As a plaintiff in the OLWV/APRI instituted federal lawsuit Rubin represents the very best of citizen involvement in our political process.
Here are references to Rubin in the above-cited lawsuit:
OHIO HOUSE LEGISLATOR: J. KIRK SCHURING
Kirk Schuring has been a Stark County delegation member of the Ohio General Assembly (OGA; either as a representative or state senator) since being appointed by Stark "organized" Republicans to replace North Canton's David Johnson.
For purposes of this particular blog, the focus is on his position in 2010 when the OGA in coordination with Ohio's Apportionment Board (referred to by Jane Timken in her July 21, 2017 appearance at the Cleveland City Club forum) redistricted Ohio's congressional and state (i.e. the Ohio House and the Ohio Senate) districts so as to make them as uncompetitive and hence unconstitutional as they could possibly make them.
To his credit, Schuring (and contrary to the position of newly"appointed" 50th District Republican representative Christina Hagan and fellow, then state Senator Scott Oelslager) opposed the splitting of Stark County into three congressional districts (the 16th [north, northwest/central Stark County] the 7th [most of Stark County] and the 13th [the northeast fringe of Stark County].
It had to be a horror to now deceased (July 19, 2017) former 16th Congressional District congressman Ralph Regula to see his fellow Republicans carve up Stark so as to disempower Stark Countians having a strong voice in the United States Congress.
It has to be more than a tad ironic to the Regula family for a Democrat to succeed the lifelong Republican Ralph Regula as 16th District congressman.Another irony is that it was none other than Kirk Schuring (a native Stark Countians himself) and stalwart Stark County Republican figure who lost to Democrat John Boccieri (an import from Mahoning County who moved to the Alliance area to run against Schuring).
Once Schuring had to run out of his "safe" gerrymandered Ohio General Assembly seat, he was not a very successful politician.
Perhaps one of reasons he lost so decisively to Boccieri was his statement at a campaign event in Ashland comparing "safe" Ashland to dangerous Canton where one might get shot.
Last time the SCPR counted there are a lot more voters in Canton than Ashland.
Interesting, no?
However, had he waited to 2012 to run in the current Ohio 16th or 7th (gerrymandered "heavily Republican" by his fellows in the Ohio General Assembly in 2011, he would have won going away.
As a named defendant (as president pro tem of the Ohio House) in the above-encaptioned lawsuit which is scheduled to go to trial in March, 2019, Schuring could be a positive factor in the defendants agreeing to settle along the lines of the proposed redistricting?
But is he interested enough in competitive, more "constitutionally" compatible to the "one person, one vote" principle of our democratic-republican system of government
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR CANDIDATE: REPUBLICAN JOHN HUSTED
(currently Ohio secretary of state)
Husted, who is now running for lieutenant governor, questioned the timing.
"Why did they wait six years to file a lawsuit challenging the maps? These groups should respect the will of Ohio's voters who overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment earlier this month that established a new, bipartisan process for drawing congressional districts starting in 2021," he said in a statement released after the suit was filed.
Of course, Mike DeWine's position might not be the same as Husted's.
The SCPR has sought comment from the DeWine campaign and will supplement this blog if the Republican gubernatorial candidate's campaign responds.
Could it be that Stark Countians whose paramount issue is fair, competitive and more "withstanding" constitutional challenge congressional redistricting might consider Husted's "I want to delay" until 2022 getting "fairer," more in tune with the "one-person, one-vote" constitutional standard might just use Husted's stance as a reason to vote for Democrat Richard Cordray in what current polls indicate is a "could go either way" gubernatorial election?
Stark Countians ought to factor in heavily getting Stark County together once again within one congressional district in the context of being competitive and more constitutionally attuned as was the case when Democrat John Boccieri defeated Republican Kirk Schuring in the 2008 congressional elections.
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