Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) will not push for national redistricting reform because he prefers advancing his own legislation, designed to end gerrymandering in the state, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Hogan was responding to a letter sent to him by Maryland’s seven Democratic members of Congress, asking him to serve as “a forceful advocate” for a national effort to mandate a nonpartisan redistricting process.
“We believe that any real reform effort must be national and bipartisan,” the letter said.
The letter noted that several members of Congress from Maryland have co-sponsored federal legislation that would require independent commissions to draw voting boundaries in every state, and the lawmakers asked Hogan, who has called for such a commission in Maryland, to join forces with them. The letter suggested Hogan could make a pitch for the cause this weekend at the National Governors Association’s winter meeting.
Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said national redistricting reform is not a realistic solution.
“The governor has recognized this as a bipartisan problem, but waiting for other states and groups of people to do the right thing is not what Governor Hogan is going to do,” Mayer said. “Marylanders should do the right thing alone if need be.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Hicks over at the Washington Post