Legislators move to next stage in redistricting

By Rhonda Cook

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The last public hearing for how and where legislative and congressional lines should be redrawn on Thursday had the same message as those offered at 11 others: Keep the process transparent and communities together.

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Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com Joint house-senate committee members Sen. Charlie Bethel, Sen. Bill Cowsert, Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, Chairman Rep. Roger Lane, Rep. Matt Ramsey, and Rep. Doug McKillip, from left to right, hear from metro area residents in the last of 12 public hearings around the state on redistricting at Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Thursday.

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Despite repeated assurances from the legislators at the front of the room, there was clearly a lack of trust.

“It would be nice to see the maps before they are locked in concrete,” said Gordon Curtain, a concerned citizen.

“I’m concerned about transparency. I’m concerned about fairness. I’m concerned about diversity,” Zine Craft said. “This whole process is quite confusing."

Rep. Roger Lane, R-Darien, and chairman of the House redistricting committee, ended a two-hour hearing at Georgia Tech with a promise, “It’s an open process. … Maps will be made available to the public before we go into session.”

In August, the Legislature will rework legislative and congressional lines, a politically charged task that happens once in a decade, to account for shifts in the population since the 2000 Census.

Republican will be in charge of redistricting for the first time and face the same criticisms from Democrats that they voiced when the GOP was in the minority.

“I don’t understand some of the comments,” said Mitch Seabaugh, chairman of the Senate’s redistricting committee and from Sharpsburg. “I can’t control what people did 10 years ago.”

The House and Senate committees will meet in July to begin crafting lines for the state’s 56 Senate seats, 180 House seats and 14 congressional districts, one more than Georgia has now.

They said the maps will be posted on the Internet and voters can weigh in at any time up until final votes are taken in a special session expected in August.

Several who spoke asked for lawmakers to keep districts compact and maintain “communities of interest.” Georgia, however, is one of nine states that must have its plans approved by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Voting Rights Act, and the state cannot draw lines that will harm the voting strength of minorities..

There was concern the voting strength of African-Americans and the growing political voice of Hispanics statewide could be threatened.

“We have come a long way but we have a long way to go,” Joseph Wallace of Atlanta said. “During this redistricting, I hope we’re not perpetuating bigotry and unfair policy. There’s so much hatred and bigotry let’s pray for out leaders.”