AUGUSTA — A partisan-deadlocked committee charged with redrawing the lines of Maine’s two congressional districts narrowly voted today to support a Democratic proposal.

The 15-member panel comprises seven Democrats and seven Republicans and is chaired by an independent.

Michael Friedman, a Bangor independent, said he had hoped the process would have been simple and devoid of politics.

I was probably naive,” he said. “I couldn’t get the donkey and the elephant to move a stitch, even though I tried.”

He said he voted in favor of the latest plan proposed by the Democrats because it offered the most simple solution and a population difference between the two districts of only one person.

The plan, approved 8 to 7, is merely a recommendation for the Legislature and lawmakers can develop their own plan if they wish. The Legislature is scheduled to adopt a new map during a special session scheduled for Sept. 27.


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