"As the state moves closer to enacting a redistricting plan that eliminates one of its 10 congressional seats, the two most likely scenarios pit the eastern part of the state against the western....
I want to secede from the state, I really do.
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Guess who is going to lose out as we always do?
"House districts may get shake-up; McGovern, Olver could face off Southeast may gain a seat" October 19, 2011|By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
With the deadline fast approaching, Beacon Hill lawmakers are considering a major overhaul for Massachusetts’ tangled, gerrymandered congressional map, a new twist that could create political upheaval for the state’s 10 Democratic US representatives.
One scenario now under serious consideration would pair incumbents James P. McGovern, of Worcester, and John W. Olver, of Amherst, in the same district, forcing them to run against each other, according to Democrats informed of the latest proposals....
Lawmakers say the committee is trying to straighten out what have become convoluted congressional district lines drawn decades ago by Democrats in power for political reasons: to protect incumbents and keep the delegation free of Republicans....
Yeah, one-party fascism is fine if it is the right party, pfft.
The Senate chairman of the Legislature’s redistricting committee, Amherst Democrat Stanley C. Rosenberg, a close friend and political ally of Olver’s, must balance demands from his own constituents to keep two seats in Western Massachusetts with those from the Boston-based political establishment which feels that the region’s declining population should only entitle it to one congressman....
Maybe we could join with Vermont or New York.
The latest plan would call for McGovern, who normally carries his home city of Worcester by large voting margins, to campaign for a seat that would include heavily progressive towns such as Amherst, Northampton, and those in the Pittsfield area, as well as smaller communities in Hampshire, Berkshire, and Franklin counties that also vote heavily Democratic....
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Related: Welcome to My World
"Olver to retire; redistricting may ease; Could have faced McGovern in ’12" October 27, 2011|By Mark Arsenault, Globe Staff
US Representative John Olver, an Amherst Democrat, will retire at the end of his term in January 2013, ending a political career that dates back more than 40 years, and taking significant pressure off the congressional redistricting process in Massachusetts.
His announcement could offer one easy fix for what had been a sticky political problem for the state: Massachusetts is losing one of its 10 congressional seats, all held by Democrats....
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What my lasting impression of the man was him turning down a demand for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney for war crimes by a group of local lawyers because Pelosi was saying no dice.
"Map changes incumbents’ terrain; Keating will move to avoid race against Lynch" by Frank Phillips and Noah Bierman | Globe Staff, November 08, 2011
Legislative leaders released a sweeping plan for the state’s congressional districts yesterday that would straighten out a decades-old snarl of seats and create new political hurdles for some of the nine remaining members of the US House delegation....
The two Western Massachusetts districts would be completely revamped....
My county got split right down the middle.
Revamping is very likely to prompt several primary battles for incumbents and even give Republicans a serious shot at gaining a foothold in the all-Democrat delegation....
I'm shocked.
But “this is clearly not drawn for incumbents,’’ House cochairman, Michael J. Moran of Brighton said. “If it was, it would look a little different.’’
Even Republicans, who have been shut out of congressional seats for years, could have a shot of winning in the new configuration. That is particularly true in the North Shore district represented by John F. Tierney, a Salem Democrat. Former Senate minority leader Richard R. Tisei, a socially liberal Republican, said yesterday he plans to challenge the eight-term congressman....
The plan must now be approved by the full House and Senate before the Legislature’s session ends Nov. 16 and then be signed by the governor....
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