I have also posted this in the Georgia Forum.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=146&topic_id=3054&mesg_id=3054I need all Georgia DUers to help us stop this state senate district redistricting. A-CC is Georgia's smallest county, is majority Democratic and has a huge minority population and a poverty rate over 25% in addition to being the home of the University of Georgia.
The GOP already redistricted my current Democratic Congressman, John Barrow (who had the gall to defeat one-term Republican Congressman Max Burns), out of my federal congressional district after 2006. (John's moving to Savannah to run there.) Even worse, outgoing 46th district R-Senator, Brian Kemp, got a law passed last year that changed our voting in A-CC to NON-PARTISAN (again the Republicans couldn't win in a fair race against Democrats: all surrounding GOP majority counties vote partisan) AND changed the dates of our A-CC primary elections and run-offs to be when the fewest citizens would be here (we have about 30,000 UGA students living in Athens, many of whom leave town during the holidays and the summer.)
Please help your fellow Democrats in Athens-Clarke County, GA!
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This is dirty partisan politics at its very worst. They already hold the majority in both state houses and have the governorship, but that isn't good enough for the bastards.
Even worse, the ultra-RW Athens Area Chamber of Commerce (They hate our Democratic Mayor and all of the Democrats, poor black and hispanics, academics and bohemians here in Athens and anyone who stands in the way of the almighty dollar and their wallets) has a hand in this debacle: they want TWO GOP senators instead of one Democratic senator.
The GA GOP realized they couldn't defeat Jane Kidd, My state rep and the daughter of former Democratic GA Gov. Ernest Vandiver, in the 46th district senate race, so they are going to split my blue county (Georgia's smallest county and one of only two consolidated city-county governments) into two GOP senate districts and throw the election to Brian Kemp's brother-in-law (who Kidd beat in the 2002 state rep. race.)
Brian Kemp (R-Athens), my current state senator is stepping down from the senate to run against Tommy Irvin for Ag Commissioner. I knew something was up when he decided to leave the seante after only one term.
PLEASE HELP US! State Reps. Keith Heard (D-Athens) and Jane Kidd (D-Athens) will host a Town Hall meeting Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of the Athens Regional Library.
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Information from Blog for Democracy (Thanks for the link Ruby!)
January 13, 2006
In other General Assembly news, yesterday the State Senate voted to split Clarke County into two Senatorial Districts. Why? Because Republicans want to make it harder for a Democrat to win Senate District 46, and have essentially tossed it in the lap of the brother-in-law of Republican Senator Brian Kemp.
"We all know what's happening here," Kidd said across the capitol in the House. She called the bill "the most hypocritical of political moves" before being cut off by House Speaker Glenn Richardson, a Republican."
Here's the story: In Senate, GOP seeks Athens split
And Chris has the maps: GA Senate district 46 redistricting images
http://www.blogfordemocracy.org/archives/2006/01/snip.h... ************************************************************************
MY EMAIL FROM MY DEMOCRATIC STATE REP., JANE KIDD:
From : <jbvkidd@aol.com >
Reply-To : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent : Wednesday, January 11, 2006 1:41 AM
To : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject : What Jane really thinks! - Tom Crawford piece
Dear Friends,
Please pass along to everyone you know who cares about justice and fairness. This is an outrage! It's not about me (Well, they WERE afraid I would win...) but about 3 senators getting together and deciding they didn't want a senator of the opposite party elected in their area.
We're talking about a consolidated government...the smallest county in the state and a county that votes majority Democratic. To split it up and design districts where there will likely be 2 Republican senators representing that county is not "representative government" it's dirty, partisan politics designed to disenfranchise the majority voting population.
If we raise a stink and fight back...the public and media outcry might keep the bill and others like it coming in the Senate and House, from moving forward. Governor Perdue doesn't want this issue to surface and neither do many Republican candidates.
Write the paper, call your friends, cause an uproar. The Dems are working on strategies up here. We need outrage in Athens!
Jane
Senate Republicans redraw three districts
by Tom Crawford on 1/9/2006
Senate Republicans are trying to redraw the boundaries of three northeast Georgia Senate districts, a move that could get rid of Democratic opposition in one of the Senate races later this year.
The redistricting involves Senate seats now held by Republicans: Sen. Brian Kemp of Athens in the 46th, Sen. Ralph Hudgens of Comer in the 47th, and Sen. Casey Cagle of Gainesville in the 49th.
The Senate Reapportionment Committee voted Monday to adopt a new plan that would modify the boundaries of the three districts. The major change would take Clarke County, which is now wholly contained within the 46th District, and split it between Districts 46 and 47.
That change would make Kemp's District 46, which is now a competitive district up for grabs between Democrats and Republicans, a more Republican-leaning district in terms of voter performance in recent elections.
Kemp is stepping down from the Senate this year to run for agriculture commissioner and Rep. Jane Kidd (D-Athens) had already announced she would run for the seat. Republican attorney Bill Cowsert, who is Kemp's brother-in-law, has also said he'll run in the 46th district.
Redrawing the district to make it more Republican, however, could persuade Kidd to get out of the Senate race and run again for her House seat instead. "I'll hold that option open," she said after learning of the committee action.
Kidd called the attempt to redraw the districts "gerrymandering" and noted that Sonny Perdue in the 2002 race for governor criticized the same kind of redistricting strategy when it was used by Democrats.
"This is exactly what Perdue railed against Roy Barnes about, this kind of gerrymandering," Kidd said. "I consider it a compliment. They know they can't beat me without changing the lines."
"It seems like Brian Kemp, as a goodbye to his Senate seat, is in cahoots with Ralph Hudgens," Kidd added. "I don't think Clarke County will be happy with this. They're being jerked around by their own senator."
Hudgens, who introduced the bill to redraw the three districts, agreed that the change in boundaries would make the 46th district "more attractive to Republicans." At the same time, he said the change will make his own 47th district "less attractive to Republican candidates."
The major goal of his proposal, Hudgens said, was to place Madison County, which is now split between two districts, entirely within the confines of the 47th District.
Hudgens said the Madison County Commission requested that county's placement in a single Senate district back in 2001. The Athens Area Chamber of Commerce had also requested more representation at the legislature, which it would get with two state senators rather than one, he added.
"We'd like to put small counties back together," Hudgens told the Reapportionment Committee. He said that Kemp and Cagle had also signed off on the redistricting proposal.
In addition to splitting Clarke County, the Hudgens bill moves Oglethorpe County from District 46 into District 47 and moves the northern half of Walton County from District 47 into District 46. A sliver of Madison County that is now part of District 46 (and also encompasses a house that Hudgens owns and would move back into) would be shifted to District 47. There would be some minor swapping of precincts between District 47 and District 49.
The redistricting bill was adopted by a straight party-line vote, with eight white Republicans on the committee outvoting four black Democrats.
"I understand what you're trying to do here, but it seems to me this is the redistricting that will never end," said Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta).
© 2006 by Capitolimpact.com