The congressional redistricting map for which Gov. Martin O’Malley is seeking legislative approval ignores standards of continuity and compactness and puts together far-flung communities that do not share common interests or anything else in common. And adding insult to injury, the governor has either forgotten or brazenly ignored Maryland’s ethnic and racial diversity in the process of redistricting.

The map is nothing but a political instrument which seeks to gain the ruling Democrats a Republican congressional seat in Western Maryland and keep the seats of incumbent Democrats safe and sound. Redistricting continues to make a mockery of one-man-one-vote. Redistricting has become and continues to be a vehicle for building partisan power in Congress.

On the plus side, the map keeps the Eastern Shore in the 1st Congressional District. However, the new map of the 1st District drops Anne Arundel County and goes west to include a large part of Carroll County, Baltimore and Harford counties. Certainly, the Eastern Shore has more in common with Anne Arundel County than Carroll County, which is located in Western Maryland.

The heavily Republican 6th District used to stretch across the northern border of the state. The new map keeps rural Western Maryland in the district, but dumps one-third of Montgomery County residents (330,000 people) into the 6th District, threatening Republican Rep. Roscoe Bartlett’s seat and making it possible for a Democrat to win the seat and difficult for a Republican to keep it.

Montgomery County is heavily Democratic, liberal, rich, college educated and racially and ethnically diverse. By contrast, Garrett County residents are overwhelmingly Republican, conservative, modestly educated and white. Montgomery and Garrett County could not be further apart. If there is a community of interest between Garrett and Montgomery counties, I wish someone would tell me what it is.

Those who drew the map wanted to dilute both the 1st District and 6th District with Democratic populations to capture the two congressional seats. Although the map drawers possessed awesome agility, they found that task beyond their talents. So, they contented themselves with destroying only the conservative 6th District.

The map has several weird configurations where lines become loops to allow Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md., 5th) to have the University of Maryland, College Park in his district and to assure that Democratic Rep. Dutch Ruppersburger’s home is in the 2nd District, as are Fort Meade and Aberdeen, which he requested. The 2nd District is made up of parts of Baltimore city, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County and Harford County. Baltimore city Rep. John Sarbanes, who represents the 3rd District, wanted Annapolis in his district and the new map gives it to him.

When the special session convenes, I will submit a redistricted map that is geographically, racially and culturally compact and cohesive.

This map will have rural Maryland represented by three districts:

Ÿ The 1st District will be composed of the Eastern Shore, Harford County and portions of Baltimore County.

Ÿ The 6th District will include the five Western Maryland counties of Garrett, Allegany, Washington, Frederick and Carroll, as well as portions of northern Baltimore County.

Ÿ The 3rd District will be composed mainly of the three historically tobacco-producing rural counties of Anne Arundel, Calvert and St. Mary’s.

This map’s three majority-minority districts contain African-American populations of 52 percent, 56 percent and 57 percent. The total minority population of District 4 represents 74 percent, of District 5 it is 68 percent and in District 7 it is 64 percent.

Ÿ The 4th District is a Beltway district that hugs the Montgomery and Prince George’s county lines. It also has the state’s largest concentration of Hispanics, totaling 21.8 percent of the district’s population.

Ÿ The 5th District is a suburban Washington, D.C., and Interstate 95 district. It contains all of Charles County, the majority of area within Prince George’s County, the I-95 portion of Howard County and the precincts bordering I-95 within Baltimore County.

Ÿ The 7th District is the Baltimore city district. Beyond totally encompassing Baltimore city, it stretches into small portions of both southeast and southwest Baltimore County.

If the goal of redistricting is to be fair and accurate representation, the governor’s plan misses by a country mile. My plan meets these goals and fully represents the citizens of Maryland.

E.J. Pipkin, Elkton

The writer is a Republican member of the Maryland Senate representing Caroline, Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne's counties.