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Valley gets gerrymandered again
(by Dave Lange - February 25, 2010)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Valley gets gerrymandered again
People who live on the Cuyahoga County side of the Chagrin Valley are no strangers to gerrymandering. The shapes carved out for state and federal legislative districts that include the valley have been more convoluted than that of a salamander, the reptile for which the practice of politicized redistricting was named in Essex County, Mass., in 1812.
The current 24th Ohio Senate District, which scoops around Cuyahoga County's outlying suburbs from Bay Village in the northwest to Strongsville and Brecksville in the south, over to Solon and up the Chagrin River in the east, is one good example. State Sen. Thomas Patton, R-Strongsville, who now represents the district, could use a good map to find Bentleyville.
The 17th Ohio House District resembles Italy and Sicily, with Solon at the heel of the boot and Brecksville and Independence dangling off the Walton Hills toe. When he's not on active military duty, state Rep. Josh Mandel represents Chagrin Valley communities. He succeeded state Rep. James P. Trakas, R-Independence, who was booted by term limits.
Most of the valley now is neatly within the 14th U.S. House District represented by U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Bainbridge. Despite being east of Cleveland, it used to be connected in jigsaw fashion to Lorain County, way out west, and represented by Sherrod Brown, D-Lorain, who now is a United States senator.
For some reason, the Chagrin Valley always appears to be an afterthought to those who draw up political districts.
That is the case with the brand new districts drawn up in the so-called Cuyahoga County government reform. While 10 of the 11 County Council districts at least bear some semblance to rationality and continuity, that cannot be said for District 6.
Aptly described elsewhere as sprawling, District 6 includes the Chagrin Valley communities of Gates Mills, Hunting Valley, Pepper Pike, Moreland Hills, Chagrin Falls, Bentleyville and Solon, as well as Mayfield, Mayfield Heights and Highland Heights, on the eastern edge of the county. But instead of connecting them with neighboring eastern suburbs, the government reformers carved a sliver across the county's southern edge through Walton Hills, over to Brecksville and Broadview Heights. Not stopping there, they wrapped it around the southeastern suburbs into Independence and Valley View and then up the industrial Cuyahoga Valley to Brooklyn Heights, Cuyahoga Heights and Newburgh Heights at the edge of Cleveland itself.
I'm not sure why the people who draw up political districts repeatedly sever Orange and Woodmere villages from the rest of the valley, but the county reformers have done it again.
When Cuyahoga County voters approved of the supposedly new system of government last November, they were told that the old system, with three elected commissioners and an elected auditor, coroner, engineer, sheriff and treasurer, was too cumbersome. For some reason, nobody told them that an elected county executive who makes political appointments to administrative positions is just like a big-city mayor and that the new 11-member County Council is, well, just like a big council.
It's evident that the reformers believe bigger government is better government. And while they can claim that 11 geographically elected County Council members will be closer to their constituents than three commissioners who were elected countywide, there's a lot more than 20 miles and two valleys lying between Gates Mills and Newburgh Heights.
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