Re:      Memo for 2020 House redistricting letter

            Aug. 31, 2019

 

CC:     Jason Adams, 13 Emeline St., Randolph

            Christos Alexopoulos, 82 Oak St, Randolph

            James Burgess, 160 Pond St., Randolph

            Natacha Clerger, 580 South Main St., Randolph

            Katrina Huff-Larmond, 6 Gloria Rd., Randolph

            Paul Meoni, 16 Pine Rd, Randolph

            Kerby Roberson, Milton, kerby@robersonlaws.com

            Jarred Rose, Stoughton, jarred@jarredrose.com

            Denise Swenson, Milton, https://www.townofmilton.org/user/1153/contact

 

To my fellow residents of 7th Norfolk and 1st Norfolk House districts:

 

            I would like to invite you to sign a joint letter to the state legislature asking that the House redistricting committee create a Randolph-centered House district after the 2020 census. Several of those on this memo's CC list testified after the 2010 census, pointing out the problems with the current trio of House districts that split Randolph, but that testimony was too late in the process to be decisive. My proposed letter is intended to insert Randolph's case into the redistricting process much earlier – and give us a basis to file a lawsuit against the redistricting committee if the post-2020 lines are drawn to split Randolph again.

 

            I have little doubt that, without intervention, the post-2020 House redistricting will split Randolph again, because the focus of the redistricting committee is on Boston. I outline in the section on "12th Suffolk" (Rep. Cullinane) in the letter below how the committee's Boston-focus directly caused the loss of a majority-minority district for the 7th Norfolk district (Rep. Driscoll). I note there that an explicit goal of the post-2010 redistricting was to create MORE majority-minority districts, and they missed one such opportunity in 7th Norfolk.

 

            The relevant excerpt from the "Report from the Chairs of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting", December 12, 2012: "The Committee increased the electoral opportunities of minority voters living in the Commonwealth in accordance with the principles articulated by the United States Constitution, the Massachusetts Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, and the state and federal courts. ...[T]he Committee did not unduly subordinate traditional redistricting principles for racial considerations, but rather gave due weight to all of the competing legitimate state interests. The Committee created twenty majority-minority House districts, an increase from the prior ten majority-minority districts. "

 

             Regarding the 1st Norfolk district (Rep. Ayers), the existing district is an example of racial gerrymandering which results in the disempowerment of four precincts of Randolph. The Supreme Court's recent rulings on gerrymandering distinguish that partisan gerrymandering is allowed, but racial gerrymandering is disallowed – so I focus on the racial gerrymandering aspects. In the 1st Norfolk district, one-third of Randolph is electorally disempowered by pairing us with a wealthy white section of Quincy, with whom the people of Randolph have little economic interaction nor demographic similarity, based on a misleading geographical closeness.

 

            Randolph is a victim of the state legislature's "packing and cracking." The most majority-minority precincts of Milton are "packed" with Mattapan to the north, instead of with Randolph to the south, resulting in the loss of a majority-minority district in 7th Norfolk. Then Randolph is further "cracked" by splitting up our remaining precincts with Quincy and Braintree, creating a situation where Randolph residents cannot seat our own representative in the Massachusetts House.

 

            The relevant principle of law is summarized from the Supreme Court case Vieth v. Jubelirer, (478 U.S. at 132, 2004): "[U]constitutional discrimination occurs only when the electoral system is arranged in a manner that will consistently degrade a voter’s or a group of voters’ influences on the political process as a whole" (As summarized by NCSL, the National Conference of State Legislatures, in their advice on state redistricting). The "packing and cracking" of Randolph has consistently degraded our political influence in choosing our state Representatives.  

 

            The proposed letter below is a draft – subject to your feedback – with the intent of sending it to the four cited House members when complete, and then to the relevant legislative committee. Perhaps some of those four cited members will sign the letter too, which would then be sent to the members of the legislature's Special Joint Committee on Redistricting (who are listed below). Assuming the post-2020 redistricting still splits Randolph, having written in advance would provide a strong basis for a post-redistricting lawsuit.

 

            In looking at other similar lawsuits, the common practice is that past candidates and potential future candidates sign on as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit. You are one of those past candidates or potential future candidates – are you interested in signing on?

 

            Sincerely,

            Jesse Gordon

            52 West St. Randolph MA 02368

            (617) 320-6989

 

 

 

House Committee on Redistricting

Paul Mark

Chair

Daniel Donahue

Vice chair

Angelo Scaccia

Democratic Member

Colleen Garry

Democratic Member

Sean Garballey

Democratic Member

Frank Moran

Democratic Member

David Rogers

Democratic Member

Jose Tosado

Democratic Member

Dylan Fernandes

Democratic Member

Paul Frost

Republican Member

Steven Howitt

Republican Member

Senate Committee on Redistricting

Cynthia Stone Creem

Chair

Michael Rodrigues

Vice chair

Barbara L'Italien

Democratic Member

James Welch

Democratic Member

Sal DiDomenico

Democratic Member

Bruce Tarr

Republican Member

 

To:      Special Joint Committee on Redistricting

            Sep. 15, 2019

 

Re:      Randolph House redistricting

 

            We are writing you regarding the three House districts that include Randolph, and requesting that the upcoming House redistricting create a Randolph-centered House district.

 

            After the 2010 census, Randolph was split into three House districts. The three districts each place precincts of Randolph in the minority of the voting population of the overall district. Randolph's population in the 2020 census will likely exceed 40,000, making Randolph eligible for our own House district. If not a Randolph-only district, then an appropriate House district would include all of Randolph plus one or two neighboring towns' precincts.

 

            Randolph is a majority-minority town, unique among our neighboring towns. Hence splitting up Randolph among our neighboring towns loses the opportunity for a majority-minority House district. In the "Report from the Chairs of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting", your predecessor committee's report dated December 12, 2012, the committee cited achieving 20 majority-minority districts. We are asking to create a 21st majority-minority district. This letter provides the background and details to do so.

 

            We look forward to working with your committee on this important issue,

 

            Sincerely,

 

            Jesse Gordon

            [add others here]


7th Norfolk House district (incumbent Rep. Driscoll)


1st Norfolk House district (incumbent Rep. Ayers)

5th Norfolk House district (incumbent Rep. Cusack)

 

 

 


NOTES:

 

Special Joint Committee on Redistricting

- Senate order 1/29/2009 and House order 3/5/2009

 

For 2010-2012 Special Joint Committee:

Senate Chair Stanley Rosenberg of Amherst

Senate Vice-Chair Sonia Chang-Diaz of Boston

House Chair Michael J. Moran of Boston

House Vice-Chair Cheryl Coakley-Rivera of Springfield

 

From "Report from the Chairs of the Special Joint Committee on Redistricting", December 12, 2012:

"The Committee increased the electoral opportunities of minority voters living in the Commonwealth in accordance with the principles articulated by the United States Constitution, the Massachusetts Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, and the state and federal courts. ...[T]he Committee did not unduly subordinate traditional redistricting principles for racial considerations, but rather gave due weight to all of the competing legitimate state interests. The Committee created twenty majority-minority House districts, an increase from the prior ten majority-minority districts. "

 

 

http://www.ncsl.org/research/redistricting/redistricting-and-the-supreme-court-the-most-significant-cases.aspx

[U]constitutional discrimination occurs only when the electoral system is arranged in a manner that will consistently degrade a voter’s or a group of voters’ influences on the political process as a whole.

(Vieth v. Jubelirer, Supreme Court case 2004, and 478 U.S. at 132)

That Supreme Court case and later ones established that partisan gerrymandering is constitutional but racial gerrymandering is not.

 

In Reynolds v. Sims, the court ruled that "the Equal Protection Clause demands no less than substantially equal state legislative representation for all citizens, of all places as well as of all races."

 

https://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_in_Massachusetts_after_the_2020_census#Apportionment_and_release_of_census_data

 

House Committee on Redistricting membership, 2018

Member          Position         Political party

Paul Mark      Chair  Democratic

Daniel Donahue       Vice chair      Democratic

Angelo Scaccia        Member          Democratic

Colleen Garry           Member          Democratic

Sean Garballey        Member          Democratic

Frank Moran Member          Democratic

David Rogers            Member          Democratic

Jose Tosado Member          Democratic

Dylan Fernandes     Member          Democratic

Paul Frost      Member          Republican

Steven Howitt           Member          Republican

 

Senate Committee on Redistricting membership, 2018

Member          Position         Political party

Cynthia Stone Creem          Chair  Democratic

Michael Rodrigues  Vice chair      Democratic

Barbara L'Italien       Member          Democratic

James Welch            Member          Democratic

Sal DiDomenico       Member          Democratic

Bruce Tarr      Member          Republican

 

To the census staff -- 

 

I represent a group preparing a lawsuit against the Massachusetts legislature's redistricting committee for racial gerrymandering of the majority-minority city of Randolph after the 2010 census. Our intent is to disseminate in the press the racially-disempowering results of the post-2010 redistricting and how that can be avoided in the post-2020 redistricting. Could you provide a demographic count of each precinct in the following four state House districts? 

* 7th Norfolk (Randolph/Milton)

* 12th Suffolk (Milton/Boston)

* 5th Norfolk (Randolph/Holbrook/Braintree)

* 1st Norfolk (Randolph/Quincy)

Searching the internet readily provides the desired demographic information by town, but not by precinct. How might we request precinct-level data for the 2010 census? And how might we request it in advance for the 2020 census? 

 

Sincerely,

Jesse Gordon

52 West St. Randolph MA 02368

(617) 320-6989