Battery of activists and legislators vie for redistricting reform

State legislators and activists came together in a Biltmore Forest home last night, Dec. 8, to build support for redistricting reform in North Carolina.

Under the current system, the General Assembly is charged with redrawing voting districts every 10 years to keep them in line with the latest census data,  empowering legislators to decide which voters they represent. The task fell to the Republican Party this time, which has a majority for the first time in more than a century. And perhaps taking a lesson from how the Democrats operated for decades before them, they drew boundaries in ways that could ensure dominance for many years to come.

The new lines created outrage in Western North Carolina by taking most of Asheville out of its longtime home in the mountainous 11th Congressional District, currently represented by Democrat Heath Shuler. The idea, said observers, was to dilute his Democratic support in the Asheville to make him more vulnerable to a Republican challenger next year. But the new lines also generated bipartisan criticism for placing the city in a 10th District that stretches to Gastonia and has little in common with the area — historically, culturally or economically.

The GOP majority also “double-bunked” two popular local Democratic members of the House – Reps. Patsy Keever and Susan Fisher – forcing one of them to step down or challenge the other in a primary.

The lines are currently being challenged in court. Meanwhile, critics are trying to channel the anger they generated to pass a bill in the Senate that would wrest the power of redistricting from the hands of legislators and give it to an independent commission. The measure passed the House overwhelmingly earlier this year, with strong bipartisan support. But it’s been stalled in the Senate for months, and a vote has yet to appear on the schedule.

The delay, said Rep. Ray Rapp of Madison County, “is about power politics. It’s about ‘We’ve got the power, why would we give it up?’ It’s very obvious what the motivation is.”

Tom Coulson, who helped organize the meeting on behalf of Common Cause, echoed that sentiment, telling the roughly 50 attendees (including Asheville City Council member Cecil Bothwell, Buncombe Register of Deeds Drew Reisinger and former Speaker of the House, Marie Colton) that, ” When it comes to redistricting, the needs of the party come ahead of the needs of society.”

But Rapp — a Democrat — reported that it’s not just the new Republican majority holding things up, saying “We’ve got problems with this on both sides of the aisle.”

And two of the most important figures in the Senate represent portions of Buncombe County, he noted, urging locals to tell Sen. Tom Apodaca and Sen. Martin Nesbitt to pass the bill. Apodaca, a Republican who’s district includes much of southern Buncombe, heads the powerful Senate Rules Committee, and has the power to kill the bill by not bringing it for a vote, explained Rapp.

Meanwhile, Nesbitt, a powerful Democrat who serves as the Senate Minority leader, isn’t supportive, reported Jane Pinsky, a lobbyist who heads a coalition seeking passage of the bill. In a meeting with Pinsky a few months ago, Nesbitt said he “thinks legislators can do redistricting better than anybody else because they know their districts best,” she reported.

Pinsky urged attendees to contact both senators to tell them to support the bill. And she said her coalition will be continuing its campaign on its behalf, organizing a conference in Raleigh in the spring that will seek to bring together North Carolina officials with those from Iowa, which has a redistricting system similar to the one being considered in the Senate.

The system in Iowa, she said, is free of the kind of political gerrymandering and legal disputes that have plagued North Carolina for decades.

“We can’t afford to go through the stupid process we’ve gone through in the past, she asserted. “One of the reasons people don’t vote is because they don’t think there vote matters — and it doesn’t if legislators draw their own districts.”

Watch video of the Dec. 8 meeting, held at the home of Terry Van Duyn in Biltmore Forest

Here, Rep. Rapp talks about the problems with the current redistricting system:

And Rep. Rick Glazier of Cumberland County discusses the reform bill under consideration in the Senate and the Iowa system it’s modeled after:

Earlier that day, Pinsky met with Reps. Rapp and Glazier and other representatives who support redistricting reform to honor them in a ceremony at Malaprop’s Bookstore in downtown Asheville.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Jake Frankel
Jake Frankel is an award-winning journalist who enjoys covering a wide range of topics, from politics and government to business, education and entertainment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

One thought on “Battery of activists and legislators vie for redistricting reform

  1. Phillip Marlowe

    Funny. Where were they when the Democrats were in charge of redistricting? They must really think that we are fools. What a much of taxpayer dependent state pension pinheads. btw, when you read the bill it specifically allows the General Assembly to draw the maps once the “independently drawn” maps are twice rejected.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.