LITTLE ROCK — Secretary of State Mark Martin, the lone Republican on a panel that redrew legislative districts last year, said Tuesday the law firm of a former GOP congressman and gubernatorial candidate will represent him in a lawsuit that contends the new boundaries dilute the black vote in an eastern Arkansas Senate district.
Martin said he has hired Asa Hutchinson’s law firm to represent him in the federal lawsuit filed on behalf of state Sen. Jack Crumbly, D-Widener, and 23 other residents of Senate District 16.
Hutchinson, a former U.S. House member from Fort Smith, ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006 against Gov. Mike Beebe.
The lawsuit argues that the new boundaries for the Senate district are discriminatory because they lower the percentage of voting-age blacks in the district from 58 percent to 53 percent.
“History has shown that a (black voting age population) of significently less than 60 percent is not sufficient to permit African American voters to elect a candidate of their choice,” the lawsuit says.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Martin was the only member of the three-member state Board of Apportionment to vote against the new district lines.
Beebe and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, the other two members of the board, voted for the plan redrawing state House and Senate districts in July 2011.
McDaniel, Beebe and Martin are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Leon Holmes.
McDaniel spokesman Aaron Sadler said only that it was the secretary of state’s prerogative to choose outside counsel. Beebe spokeswoman Stacey Hall said the governor learned about Martin’s decision Tuesday.
Beebe said Hutchinson “was a formidable opponent in the election, he’s a good lawyer and he’s a fighter,” Hall said.
The suit seeks an injunction that would force the state to redraw the district lines.
Crumbly, who is black, has served as senator for District 16, which includes St. Francis, Lee, Phillips and Crittenden counties, since 2007.
Under the new boundaries, the district, which changes to number 24, covers all of Crittenden and parts of Cross, St. Francis, Lee and Phillips counties.
Crittenden makes up 60 percent of the district under the new boundaries, attorney James Valley of Helena-West Helena, who represents Crumbly and the other plaintiffs, said.
After last July’s board meeting, Martin criticized the redistricting plan approved, citing “serious concerns about passing a redistricting plan that might result in protracted litigation” and about “reverting back to a time in which African American voters’ influence was diluted through the redistricting process.”
Martin declined to comment Tuesday on the pending lawsuit.
“Many people know that the board adopted the proposed Senate maps on a split vote,” Martin said in a news release. “The vote is a public record. Since (the) suit has been filed, I do not want to comment any more on the pending litigation or related issues.”