At the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North Luncheon on October 11, 2018 Rodger Park was the Keynote Speaker and he described Gerrymandering in Michigan.
Rodger said, "at this time, politicians draw their own districts this creates a conflict of interest. When politicians have the power to draw voting maps, they have the power to hand-pick their voters."
"Michigan voters can end gerrymandering in Michigan before 2021 when the next election maps are redrawn." Rodger works for Voters Not Politicians which mission is to end gerrymandering by passing Proposal 2 this Election Day.
Voters Not Politicians, propose an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission of registered Michigan voters to draw voting districts using guidelines that ensure fairness to all. They believe that the voters of Michigan - not politicians - should be entrusted with this important and monumental task.
Rodger Park described that a vote yes on proposal 2 will do the following
- Voters, Not Politicians: An Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) will be in charge of the redistricting process. The Commission will be made up of 4 Democrats, 4 Republicans, and 5 voters who affiliate with neither party with representation from across the state. Political insiders (politicians, consultants, lobbyists) will be banned from serving on the Commission.
- Transparency: Instead of secret closed door meetings, the ICRC is required to conduct its business in public hearings that are open to input from across the state. All proposed maps and the methodology/data to create them must be submitted as public reports. Everything down to the variables used by the computers to draw the maps will be available to the public.
- Fairness: The fairness of any idea to reform partisan voting maps comes down to how the maps themselves end up being drawn. The ICRC is required to follow a prioritized set of criteria and standards when drawing the maps. A minimum of 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 2 voters who affiliate with neither party on the Commission must approve the final maps. This prevents one political party from controlling the process.
Before Rodger's talk, Pres. Joyce Williams presented Scott Nelson with a plaque given by Immediate Past District Governor Barry Fraser, for all of Scott's great work with Rotary District 6380 in 2017-2018.
