State Rep. Sandra WilliamsCOLUMBUS, Ohio — Statehouse Republicans have reached out to black Democrats to see if they might break from their party colleagues to begin talks about a deal on an alternative congressional redistricting map.
"Can we contact you about the maps? That was the message that I got," said Rep. Sandra Williams, a Cleveland Democrat who heads the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus.
Williams said the message came from "a third party" on Tuesday and that she had not responded to the overture. Instead, she said she was contacting OLBC members to let them know about the interest from Republicans.
"If the members of the caucus were interested, I would definitely entertain it," she said. Williams said a black caucus meeting is scheduled for Wednesday where the topic is likely to come up for discussion.
A unanimous Ohio Supreme Court ruling on Friday that the new congressional map approved by lawmakers is subject to a voter referendum has put Republican legislative leaders in a position where they likely will need to cut a deal with House Democrats.
With Ohio Democratic Party chairman Chris Redfern threatening to take the recently approved map to the November 2012 ballot, Republicans need seven House Democrats to join 59 GOP members in the majority to vote for an alternative congressional map.
That's because the alternative map legislation would need an emergency clause to avoid being subject to a referendum. That requires 66 votes in the 99-member House. In the Ohio Senate, Republicans already hold the needed two-thirds majority to approve any map on a party-line vote.
Previous Plain Dealer coverage
- Ohio Republicans ponder next move as Democrats vow to take new congressional map to ballot (
- Democratic chief Chris Redfern calls on Republicans to talk about a new congressional map (
- Ohio Supreme Court orders secretary of state to consider referendum vote on congressional maps (
- Secretary of State Jon Husted rejects redistricting petitions, but Democratic group forges ahead with lawsuit (
If a deal on an alternative map can't be struck with Democrats, Republicans might have to take their chances in federal court where a judge or a panel of judges could end up drawing the congressional lines that would be used for the next decade.
Either way, lawmakers are under pressure to resolve the issue and eliminate confusion for congressional candidates, who currently face a Dec. 7 filing deadline for the March 2012 primary.
The Senate has scheduled a session for Thursday, and the House is expected to meet Friday to act on legislation that would move the primary to a later date and buy more time to enact a new map.
Democrats have complained that the congressional map passed last month, largely by Republicans, creates 12 solidly GOP congressional districts and four Democratic districts. They are seeking something closer to a 50/50 split.
Williams said in her mind "more Democratic influence would be a better map." She was one of three Cuyahoga County black Democrats to vote for the first map on Sept. 15 because of a Northeast Ohio congressional district that was created with a majority of black voters.
The overture to black Democrats could mean that GOP lawmakers are willing to alter the map they passed last month to make it easier for a black candidate to be elected in a second congressional district. The first map had carved out a new congressional district in Franklin County with a black voting age population of about 29 percent.
Rep. Vern Sykes, a veteran Akron Democratic lawmaker and member of the OLBC, said the Supreme Court decision gives Democrats leverage.
"We are going to need to see something that is a lot better than 12 and 4," he said, referring to the Republican-to-Democrat ratio in the first map.
House Speaker William G. Batchelder, a Medina Republican, and his spokesman Mike Dittoe could not be reached for comment.