Politics & Government
Redistricting Means One Congressman for Royal Oak
The new legislative maps mean new boundaries for state House, state Senate and congressional districts.
On Tuesday, Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation redrawing legislative boundaries for state House, state Senate and congressional districts.
For Royal Oak, that means one congressman, starting with the 2012 election.
In the state House
Royal Oak remains in District 26, led by Jim Townsend (D), who also represents Madison Heights.
Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In the state Senate
Royal Oak remains in District 13, led by John Pappageorge (R). The district includes Berkley, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Clawson and Troy.
New to District 13 is part of Rochester Hills; gone are Bloomfield Township and Madison Heights.
Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Because of term limits, this is Pappageorge's final term.
In U.S. Congress
Royal Oak was previously divided into District 9, represented by Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Hills), and District 12, represented by Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak).
Peters currently represents Royal Oak, Birmingham, Farmington Hills, Pontiac, Rochester Hills, Troy and Waterford.
Levin currently represents Royal Oak, Southfield, Ferndale, Roseville, Eastpointe, St. Clair Shores, Warren, Clinton Township and Mount Clemens.
Under the redistricting, all of Royal Oak is in a newly redrawn District 9, which also includes Center Line, Clinton Township, Eastpointe, Fraser, Mount Clemens, Roseville, St. Clair Shores, Sterling Heights, Grosse Pointe Shores, Warren, Berkley, Bloomfield Township, part of Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Madison Heights, Pleasant Ridge and Southfield Township.
The change does not sit well with Peters, whose district is being split into three separate districts.
“Governor Snyder may have signed these gerrymandered maps, but that doesn’t protect them from a legal challenge. Throughout this process, I have been working with the delegation to fight the proposed maps, and I will continue supporting any legal challenge as it goes forward," Peters said in a statement.
"At our peak, we had 19 seats in Congress. We only have 15 today, and next year, we are going to drop to 14 because Michigan was the only state in the nation to actually lose population over the last decade," Snyder said in a statement.
See maps of the new districts
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
