The leader of Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives says he was caught off guard by a new congressional district map proposed by House and Senate Democrats.
House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) told reporters on Wednesday he hasn't seen details of the map. And he said he first learned of it at a press conference held by Democrats on Tuesday. Huffman's disgust was palpable as he talked about the map.
鈥淢uch of the reforms that the voters passed in 2018 was to provide more input from the public. They didn鈥檛 want the map drawn behind closed doors," Huffman said. "I would also say starting the process with saying 'this is an 8 -7 map'鈥攖hat's gerrymandering."
Huffman said Republicans and Democrats should have sat down to try to come up with a map together.
"The first thing that happens in this process is Democrats unveil their own version of gerrymandering," Huffman said.
Rep. Phil Robinson (D-Solon) said guidance for the map came from ordinary Ohioans who have been weighing in on the redistricting process through a website set up to gather maps put forward by ordinary Ohioans.
"The map is not our map. It is the voters' maps. And we believe that the voters should pick elected officials, not the other way around," Robinson said. "And the beautiful part is, we'll have a process now, as though with all public town hall meetings and things of that nature, we'll figure out what's the best map."
The timetable
A Joint Committee on Congressional Redistricting has been set appointed by Huffman and Senate President Rob McColley (R-Napoleon).
Huffman appointed Reps. Adam Bird (R-New Richmond), Nick Santucci (R-Niles), Brian Stewart (R-Ashville), D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron), Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati), Desiree Tims (D-Dayton) have been tapped to serve as members of the committee from the House. McColley appointed Sens. Jane Timken (R-Jackson Township), Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green), Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin), Senate Minority Leader Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood), and Willis E. Blackshear Jr. (D-Dayton). Bird and Timken will serve as co-chairs.
The first meeting of the committee will be on Monday, Sept. 22, a week before the deadline to come up with a map that would be approved by a 3/5 majority of the legislature, including half of all Democrats. Huffman, who is critical of the map unveiled by Democrats, said he doubts a bipartisan map will be unveiled before the hearings.
Democrats said they hoped , the legislation facilitating their new map, could have been assigned to a House committee and get public hearings on it right away. That didn't happen. Huffman said the legislation hadn't been turned in on time to move the legislation forward - something Robinson disputes.
"House Bill 442, which we introduced, which was the map that the Democratic Caucus submitted, was submitted on time on Monday," Robinson said.
Timing is critical. If a map with sufficient bipartisan support is not approved by the end of this month, the Ohio Redistricting Commission will get a crack at it. That commission, which is dominated by Republicans, will get a month to come up with a map that has bipartisan support. If that doesn't happen by Oct. 31, the map-making will go back to the legislature where a map can be approved with a simple majority, but must be done by Nov. 30.
Without bipartisan support, that map would only last for four years before lawmakers would have to come back to draw lines again. In fact, that's why Ohio lawmakers are dealing with redistricting now. A 2020 attempt to draw congressional district lines did not get bipartisan support so Ohio has to draw a new map this year.
While Ohio must draw a new congressional map, some other states are choosing to draw maps. President Trump called on Texas to draw its maps to get more Republican representation. And that fueled efforts by other states to revisit their own maps. Huffman said Trump has not contacted him to prescribe how to change Ohio's maps. And even if Trump did weigh in, Huffman said the state constitution prescribes a specific process.
"I think any president of the United States, Joe Biden, Donald Trump or whoever would rather have more members of their own party in Congress than take a lot to conclude that," Huffman said.
"But there are so many specifics to this and constitutional mandates. That's really what's going to, guide us here."
