The Calvert County Commissioners voted 3-to-1 Tuesday, Nov. 8 to accept the recommendation of the Redistricting Committee to expand the number of election districts from three to five, effective June 2014. The commissioners plan to request state legislation to codify the change. Additionally, the Calvert Redistricting Committee recommended that the five commissioners be elected countywide and that the board continue the practice of selecting its president every four years.
The lone vote cast against the recommendation was by Commissioner Pat Nutter [R], who felt the issue should have been deferred until Commissioner Evan K. Slaughenhoupt Jr. [R] was present and able to offer comments, and vote on the proposal. Nutter noted Slaughenhoupt had made known his plans to miss the Nov. 8 meeting several months in advance.
“I felt it was necessary for Commissioner Slaughenhoupt to be here,” said Nutter, who had earlier voiced concerns that dividing Calvert into five sections would yield commissioners with parochial interests. “My concern with five districts is the unintended consequences, said Nutter. “Do we not put everybody in their own neighborhood? This is still a small county.”
Currently, each of the three election districts is represented by a commissioner with the remaining two board members selected at-large.
“There is some confusion with the present system,” said Commissioner Steven R. Weems [R] in explaining his reason for supporting the committee’s recommendation.
Committee chair Patt Parker indicated the concerns about parochialism may be allayed by the fact that all county voters still have an opportunity to vote for five candidates. “We did take a look at what would happen if that person was elected from that district only,” said Parker. “We felt the focus on ‘One Calvert’ would be lost.”
Commissioner Gerald W. “Jerry” Clark [R], who grilled the committee’s leadership on the results of the citizen survey with several “devil’s advocate” questions, asked Parker if the committee had contemplated how to divide Calvert into five election districts. Parker said that issue has not been discussed by committee members. The committee’s next task will be to present proposals for the new districts once state legislators have approved the five-district plan. The redistricting plan would likely be presented to the commissioners in June of next year.
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