Republican Del. John Cluster of the 8th legislative district, which includes parts of Parkville and much of Carney and Perry Hall, submitted the following statement as a letter to the editor.

Last week, Gov. Martin O’Malley released his proposed legislative map for 2012 through 2022 and made a few changes to the current 8th district of Maryland.

The biggest change to the map was the political exclusion of my seatmate Del. Joe Boteler’s home precinct. This means that Del. Boteler will no longer live in the 8th district. This was done for one reason and one reason only, and that was to take the top vote recipient out of the district in an effort to win one more seat for the Democrats in the 8th. This is political gerrymandering at its worst and is repeated across the state of Maryland on numerous occasions.

If you currently vote at Harford Hills Elementary, Pine Grove Elementary, Pine Grove Middle or Cub Hill Presbyterian Church, you will no longer be in the 8th district. They have removed these precincts to take Del. Boteler out of the district, and in return, added four precincts in Loch Raven and two precincts in Rosedale. I am very disappointed with the governor because he has decided to split Carney in half for political reasons, without thinking of the needs of its residents.

Currently, this proposal is being challenged in court by the Fannie Lou Hammer PAC and I fully support their efforts. Gerrymandering is one of the most corrupt actions an elected official can do and this map is full of numerous occurrences of gerrymandering. The governor has done a huge disservice to the citizens of Maryland and his efforts to disenfranchise voters will continue to keep Maryland a one-party State.

Do you agree or disagree with the proposed legislative district changes? Tell us in the comments.