would have to go over into Montgomery or
Carroll County, or Prince George's to get
the other 20-some-thousand people that
would be needed to create the senatorial
district and the multi-member house dis-
trict. Then, the person who might attempt
to run from one of the other counties
would have virtually an impossible job of
being elected in a district in which he had
such a small area, yet this would be the
only way in which the people could be
represented in such adistrict.
I think for these reasons it is imperative
that we adhere to the single member dis-
tricts. The whole idea of a three-to-one
ratio, the 40-120 that we settled on, was to
create one set of districts for the House,
and by putting three of these together,
make one senatorial district. You would
have people from the senate having a
larger overall view, and people from the in-
dividual house districts of about 33,000
having the smaller view. This would be
good.
If we adopt either of these amendments
we are upsetting the whole apple cart, and
to me this would be one of the great trage-
dies of this Convention.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in favor of the amendment?
Delegate Bothe.
DELEGATE BOTHE: Mr. Chairman, I
rise in support of the amendment, not par-
ticularly in favor of the amendment to the
amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: The question now
arises on the amendment to the amendment.
DELEGATE BOTHE: I understand that,
sir. I rise in support of the whole concept
of allowing flexibility up to the number of
three in the selection of delegates to run
from the district. The arguments in favor
of the single member district are very neat
and persuasive. However, I think the prob-
lem in Baltimore City, which would be cre-
ated when we have 28 neighborhoods and
28 representatives each coming from one
little corner of the City, would be appalling.
In Baltimore City today with our six dis-
tricts, ranging from six to eight delegates
— and I think that is many too many — we
have a situation where people must repre-
sent not their own kind, not their own
neighbor, but everybody.
I know that the representatives from my
district could not vote in favor of minori-
ties. I have heard Delegate Sollins state |
that he feels a minority would have a bet-
ter chance in a single member district.
Quite to the contrary. I feel that we would
have a group of special interests, each com-
peting with each other from the City of
Baltimore, and perhaps also from larger
counties; that it is a healthier and more
democratic thing to have people not only
represent their own kind, but all kinds, and
that single members districts for Baltimore
City would forever foreclose that possi-
bility. For that reason I heartily endorse
the Lord-Case amendment, which I think
leaves open to the counties the ability to
have single member districts, but does not
prevent Baltimore City and the larger coun-
ties from being represented by a wide cross
section.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak against the amendment to
the amendment?
Delegate Dulany.
DELEGATE DULANY: Mr. Chairman,
since parochialism has been mentioned here
today, I would like to be parochial for a
minute on the substitution or the motion to
substitute the amendment of Mr. Rybczyn-
ski for the amendment of Mr. Lord.
Actually, in our county, in Carroll
County, we would be entitled to two dele-
gates and under Mr. Rybczynski's motion
we would have to form either a legislative
district with part of another county and
have a district with three delegates at
large, or divide the county into two legis-
lative districts. I cannot support his sub-
stitute motion. I can support the motion of
Mr. Lord.
THE CHAIRMAN: Does any delegate
desire to speak in favor of the amendment
to the amendment?
(There was no response.)
In favor of?
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Gallagher.
DELEGATE GALLAGHER: Mr. Chair-
man, to eliminate whatever confusion I
have spawned here I would like to state my
position, which I ask the Committee on the
Legislative Branch to consider. That is, I
plan to vote for Mr. Rybczynski's amend-
ment to the amendment. And I plan to vote
against the amendment introduced by Dele-
gate Lord and Delegate Case because I feel
that the Committee Recommendation is the
better of the two. |
