As Maryland embarks on its 10-year redistricting process for the State Senate and House of Delegates — to be addressed in a special session beginning Oct. 17 in Annapolis — some community leaders in the Timonium area are hoping the process will unify Timonium wholly in the Towson-centric 42nd district.
"We have nothing in common with Reisterstown and Owings Mills," Ken Anderson, president of the Pine Valley/Pineview Community Association, said regarding his neighborhood's placement in the 11th district.
"We want to have unified representation for Timonium," he said. "Give us the people we should have."
At a public meeting before the Governor's Redistricting Advisory Committee last month, Anderson, as well as Linda Yenger of Mays Chapel Village and Eric Rockel, president of the Greater Timonium Community Council, spoke out against the perceived gerrymandering that has communities of Timonium split between three state legislative districts — 42, 7 and 11.
While most of Timonium is in 42nd District, currently represented by state Sen. Jim Brochin (D), a portion of Mays Chapel is in 11th District, now represented by state Sen. Bobby Zirkin (D), which stretches west into Owings Mills and Reisterstown.
Additionally, a part of the community is in the 7th district, which extends through Harford County and parts of eastern Baltimore County. That district is currently represented by state Sen. J.B. Jennings (R).
And, a portion of the nearby Cockeysvillle community is in the 5th District, represented by state Sen. Joe Getty (R), which includes much of the northern part of the county to the Carroll County and Pennsylvania lines.
In addition to state senators, the mix of four districts means the area has 10 delegates to keep track of in Annapolis: Republicans Sue Aumann and Bill Frank and Democrat Steve Lafferty currently represent the 42nd District; Richard Impallaria, Pat McDonough and Kathy Szeliga, all Republicans, are in the 7th; Jon Cardin, Dan Morhaim and Dana Stein, all Democrats, in the 11th; and Wade Kach, a Republican, in the 5th.
Anderson said he became aware that he had different legislators than his neighbors over a year ago, when he was asked by his community association to lobby his representatives against legalizing slots at the State Fairgrounds, which he felt would give them an avenue to build a hotel and casino and put more stress on the area's "failing roads."
"I had no clue who our delegates were, and I didn't really care, but when I found out we were in the 11th, we were appalled by the fact that we weren't in the same district [as the rest of the GTCC]," Anderson said. "Why aren't we allowed to have our communities represented in a unified fashion?"
The separate representation also creates problems when issues arise in Mays Chapel, such as a proposed school last year that local residents opposed.
Zirkin, who represents that portion of Timonium, got involved on behalf of the residents, but Rockel lamented the fact that the 42nd District representatives couldn't.
"That's an example where the delegates in the 11th were very responsive, but it's just that we couldn't count on the delegates in the 42nd because it was outside of their district," Rockel said.
While both Anderson and Rockel said the 11th District representatives have been helpful and pleasant in their interactions, they still don't feel that they get the same representation they would were their entire community in one district.
"What I hear from them is that they feel like their viewpoints on things maybe aren't getting the concern they would be were they part of the 42nd simply because with regard to the 11th and 7th, we are such small parts of overall district," Rockel said.
"The fact of the matter is that the 42nd takes up most of the Timonium area, and it makes the most sense to create a contiguous district comprised of the community," he said.
No offense …
Zirkin, the 11th District senator, understands the sentiments of his Timonium constituents, and doesn't believe their desire to be in the 42nd is a slight to him.
"When you're sitting there and the person across the street from you has different representation, it can be frustrating, particularly when you have problems that are the same," Zirkin said.
"I work very hard for my areas and my constituents," Zirkin added. "I've lived in all parts of my district, so I try to get to as many places as I can. Obviously, there's only one of me and it's hard to get everywhere all the time, but I certainly make an effort.
"I just think they believe Timonium itself should be united," he said.
Whether such a district can be created is ultimately, as Sen. Brochin pointed out, in the hands of three people — State Senate President Thomas V. "Mike" Miller, State Speaker of the House Michael Busch and Gov. Martin O'Malley.
Both Miller and Busch are on the state redistricting committee that will make a recommendation, and O'Malley will certainly guide the process.
The General Assembly will convene beginning next week in Annapolis in a special session to discuss not only the legislative districts, but congressional districts as well. The redistricting process happens every 10 years to create districts that conform with new U.S. Census data.
Brochin indicated that he will do the best he can to unite the Timonium area in the state district, but he said that when the power ultimately rests with a few firmly entrenched politicians who were responsible for a map that was ultimately thrown out by the courts in the last round of redistricting, he fears his best may not be enough.
"Six years ago, I put in a bill that takes [this process] out of politician's hands," Brochin said, "It never even made it to a vote. That's what should happen, but it's not going to."