Released late today, July 12, the new House districts proposed by GOP-led N.C. Redistricting Committee isolate Asheville as its own district, which could pit the two local Democrat delegates — Rep. Susan Fisher (currently representing District 114) and Rep. Patsy Keever (currently representing the 115th) — against each other and make it easier for a Republican to win the 115th. Under the proposal, the new District 115 would omit Asheville and be made up mostly of east Buncombe County. The new 116th House District, currently represented by Republican Tim Moffitt, would cover the entire western half of Buncombe County and contain the most Republican voters.
The Joint House and Senate Redistricting Committee will hold a July 18 public hearing on the new maps in the Ferguson Auditorium at A-B Tech from 3 to 9 p.m. For more details and to submit feed back to committee members online, click here.
Here’s a look at the new districts by the numbers:
Proposed District 114 (Asheville)
R
32,439 Democrats (6,773 more than the current district)
10,906 Republicans (1,934 less than the current district)
19,653 Unaffiliated (3,541 more than the current district)
Proposed District 115 (east Buncombe)
22,594 Democrats (4,069 less than the current district)
17,340 Republicans (2,148 more than the current district)
15,289 Unaffiliated (1,972, less than the current district)
Proposed District 116 (west Buncombe)
20,198 Democrats (2,704 less than the current district)
18,611 Republicans (223 less than the current district)
14,786 Unaffiliated (1,569 less than the current district)
Here’s the statewide map of proposed N.C. House districts, in which Asheville resembles an island in Buncombe:
The 116th district would cover the entire western half of Buncombe County.
Thanks for catching that tatuaje. We’ve corrected it.
Jerry somebody? Oh yeah- Gerry-mandering, that’s who it was a callin’….
Not to nitpick or anything, but in the number breakdowns above the proper word is f”ewer”, not “less.”
Sorry. Just a pet peeve of mine.
Here’s a Google overlay to help give you a more detailed sense of the proposed districts:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=203601542111724849242.0004a7f344a4045e079d0