(AUGUSTA, ME)—Every ten years, following the completion of the U.S. Census and its assessment of how our population has shifted, Maine must redraw the lines that delineate the districts in which we elect members of Congress, state Senators and Representatives, and County Commissioners. Negotiators from both political parties spent the last several weeks working through this once-a-decade process and the result was confirmed by the Legislature on Wednesday.
Senate Republicans are happy with the outcome of this “apportionment” process, which will determine new political boundaries across the state. The process was fair and the result was good for all Mainers.
Senate Republicans had two members on the Apportionment Commission–Senators Davis and Bennett.
Senate Republican Leader Jeff Timberlake – “Sometimes it takes a few weeks and many hours of working out our differences, but the result of the latest apportionment process shows that when all sides sit down and work together, we can arrive at a positive outcome for the people of Maine.”
Sen. Paul Davis: “Setting aside partisan differences, we focused on what was in the best interests of all Maine people and produced a very good result.”
Sen. Rick Bennett: “Rather than protect incumbents and protect party advantage, it’s good to have a lot of competitive districts where the politicians really need to earn the votes of the people that they want to represent and they can’t take their seats for granted.”
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Contact: Tom Desjardin, 207-416-2230