Democratic redistricting working group members respond to Republican gerrymandering plan

State Rep. Jack Cera (D-Bellaire) and state Sen. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron), the two Democratic designees on the Ohio legislature’s redistricting working group, issued the following statement in response to today’s Republican congressional gerrymandering presentation to House and Senate committees:

“We are committed to achieving real reform and want to make sure that our state’s congressional districts are fair and truly representative of Ohioans. We want any congressional redistricting plan to end partisan gerrymandering.

“Unfortunately, the plan that Senator Huffman and Representative Schuring presented today doesn’t achieve that. In fact, in some ways, it is worse than our current system, as it eliminates the governor’s veto power and removes the citizen referendum from the legislative process.

“Any plan that does not include strict criteria to prevent gerrymandering or does not ensure bipartisanship weakens representation in Ohio.

“We are willing to continue discussions in good faith and hope a bipartisan plan that puts an end to gerrymandering is still possible.”