ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Senate President Bill Ferguson didn't mince words in a condemnation of a "pre-determined" recommendation to redraw Maryland's Congressional lines.
"I was asked to comment on a forthcoming story about the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Commission (GRAC) approving a decision to move forward consideration of new Congressional maps," Ferguson wrote in a statement. "The meeting is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. — it has not happened, but the outcome is already known. Clearly, the Commission's work was pre-determined from the moment the GRAC was announced."
There was no GRAC meeting listed for this evening on the commission's website, so the statement issued just before 5 p.m. is the first we learned of a planned vote.
"Pushing forward a pre-ordained recommendation outside the public eye is irresponsible and lacks transparency," Ferguson said.
While there was no publicly available feed of the meeting, we received a statement from the chair, U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks, just after 6 p.m. through the Governor's office of communications.
"Today, the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Committee [sic] met to discuss our path forward and decided to continue our work to recommend a congressional map to the Governor and the General Assembly. As part of this next phase, we are asking Marylanders to submit their map ideas for our consideration over the next two weeks by emailing grac@maryland.gov," she said.
The Commission says it will make submitted maps available to the public after Christmas.
"This process will remain open, transparent, and focused on ensuring Maryland's districts reflect our communities and comply with the law," Alsobrooks added.
In late October, Ferguson told colleagues in a letter obtained by Politico that his chamber wouldn't move forward with redistricting.
He cited legal risks and a short timeline, calling the potential risk "catastrophic" for Democrats.
"Our State's residents have been clear in front of this commission and through polling," Ferguson said in his statement on Thursday. "The overwhelming majority do not want a new congressional map. They want their government focused on fostering growth, affordability, and real protections against this lawless federal Administration."
"At a moment when other states are moving aggressively to redraw maps—and with some already signaling they want the Supreme Court to weaken or effectively nullify key protections of the Voting Rights Act—Maryland cannot afford to sit on the sidelines," Alsobrooks added in her Thursday night statement. "That's what tonight's announcement is about: doing the work, inviting the public in, and getting this right."
House Minority Leader Jason Buckel leaned to agreeing with Ferguson, saying Governor Moore put together a "highly partisan commission to solve a problem that doesn't exist.
"There has been limited and rushed public input—and at least 50% of it is against any redistricting," Buckel said in a statement released Thursday night. "The commission chair, Senator Alsobrooks, hasn’t even participated in many of the remote meetings. Likely two of the five appointees, including one of Maryland’s leading Democrats, are opposed to any mid-cycle extreme partisan gerrymandering. This commission is a farce and the General Assembly should pay no attention to any pre-ordained recommendations it may make.”
When asked about the fact that tonight's meeting was not made public, a spokesperson for the Governor's office told us the following:
"The Governor’s Redistricting Advisory Commission met privately, consistent with how prior GRAC/LRAC commissions have handled internal deliberations about next steps in the process."
