PORTLAND – Representatives of Maine’s two largest political parties praised final rulings Wednesday from the Maine supreme court, which redrew the state’s political map to reflect demographic changes recorded in the 2000 census.

Although legislators reached consensus on creating new boundaries for the 151 districts in the Maine House, Democrats and Republicans were unable to agree on new divisions for the 35 state Senate districts and for Maine’s 1st and 2nd Congressional Districts. In the event of such disagreements, the Maine Constitution delegates decision-making responsibility to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Key points of the court’s final orders include:

. Acceptance of the Legislature’s plan for remapping the House districts and the rejection of gerrymandering claims by Portland Rep. John Eder, the only Green Independent Party legislator. Eder said his district’s boundaries were changed purposely to place him in a head-to-head re-election battle with one of two Portland Democratic incumbents.

. Abandonment of the court’s plan to place Knox County – with a majority of GOP voters – in the northern 2nd Congressional District. Instead, the court moved several Kennebec County towns that had been in the southern 1st Congressional District into the 2nd District.

. Minor tweaking of the state Senate districts that sets up only one potential 2004 pairing of incumbents: Sens. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, and Stephen Stanley, D-Medway.

“In general, we were pleased with the way the court handled it, showing that they were even-handed in the way they looked at things,” said Amy Walsh, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party. “They didn’t fix everything we wanted fixed, but overall we were pleased. We had hoped that Sen. Stanley wouldn’t be in a position where he would face an incumbent in his reshaped district, but that’s the only one, and we’re sure he’ll win that seat.”

Davis, the current GOP floor leader in the Senate and a member of the 15-member apportionment commission that turned out competing redistricting plans for the Senate and congressional blocs, would have preferred to avoid running against an incumbent. Still, the former Maine State Police supervisor said Wednesday the court’s overall decisions were fair and largely in line with the GOP view. A potential battle with Stanley to keep his seat was not a major concern, he said.

“I will run like I always have, work hard and hope that the people will select me,” he said. “What else can I do?”

The Maine Constitution requires redistricting of the congressional, legislative and county commission boundaries every 10 years to reflect population changes. The most notable development since 1990 was the decline of population bases in northern and eastern Maine as more residents sought employment in central and southern areas of the state.

The redistribution of population has resulted in larger geographic Senate districts in northern Maine and a 2nd Congressional District with a more southerly boundary line that swallows up several northern Kennebec County communities, including Waterville and Winslow. The supreme court justices concluded the 2nd District’s already legendary reputation as the “largest congressional district east of the Mississippi River” would only be enhanced if the court followed its original plan to annex Knox County. Instead, it chose to move several small and two large Kennebec County communities into the 2nd District to lessen the geographic impact.

“The court’s proposal would significantly increase [the 2nd District’s] size and create an additional travel burden on the representative from the [2nd District],” the justices wrote. “To the extent that the court can avoid adding a substantial geographic increase and burden on travel, we must attempt to do so.”

Walsh said Democrats were extremely pleased the court had decided not to make the 2nd Congressional District any more Republican than it already is by absorbing Knox County. Democrats have fared well in the 2nd District since former U.S. Rep. Olympia J. Snowe resigned the seat to win election to the U.S. Senate in 1994.

She was succeeded by Bangor Democrat John E. Baldacci who has since been elected the state’s first Democratic governor in 16 years. His decision to seek the Blaine House cleared the way for former Democratic Maine Senate President Michael Michaud to represent the political region that will now stretch from northern Aroostook County south to Porter on the New Hampshire border and to Lincolnville on the eastern coast.

“We were pleased that the court listened to people in Knox County who said (the court’s original plan) would have changed their orientation to the rest of the state,” Walsh said. “Now we’ll wait another 10 years and forget what this was all like so that we can get to come back and do it all over again.”