Tomorrow, many of us in North Carolina will go to the polls to elect our municipal leaders. Others of us have already voted. A lot of us will be voting in districts drawn by the legislature and imposed on us by people who don’t represent us. It’s big government overreach and it’s wrong.
In Buncombe County, the legislature added seats to our county commission and drew the district lines in Raleigh, not Buncombe County. The legislature redrew Wake County’s school board and switched elections from odd-numbered years, when most municipal elections are held, to even ones. In Lee County, the legislature made school board races partisan, as if we need more partisanship in our lives. They also redistricted the Wake County Commission and, after this year’s city council election, there are rumors that the legislature will restructure the Raleigh City Council.
While the legislative redistricting and restructuring of local governments and boards is legal, it undermines the stability of towns and counties. We should have political leaders who want to foster cooperation, not intimidation. The divisive politics of heavy-handed redistricting against the will of the people affected creates an atmosphere of resentment and distrust that is counterproductive. It’s also anti-democratic and authoritarian.
In March, Rep. Brian Turner introduced a bill that would restore some local control to the heavy-handed process. His proposal would allow citizens who are affected when the legislature redistricts or restructures a local jurisdiction to vote on the action. That gives local people some control of their own political processes and destinies, instead of allowing people who don’t represent them to dictate their political future. Unfortunately, the Republicans killed the bill.
Today, we’re launching a petition calling on the legislature to end redistricting without representation. Everybody, regardless of party or political persuasion, should be concerned with the bad precedent set by the legislature. Our local governments should be able to count on some level of stability. Legislative intervention in local affairs should be a last resort reserved for correcting severe mismanagement, not a means of implementing partisan control.
Join us in pushing back against big government overreach. Sign our petition today. Your voice needs to be heard.
Paid for by the Committee to Elect Holly Jones
Holly — Redistricting is a difficult issue to get people excited about. But it is critically important — as we see the damage Republican gerrymandering has done to our state. I hope you’ve had a chance to consider the proposal I shared with you and Thomas to use your Crowdsourcing project to assure that no legislative district is without a Democratic challenger. Thomas was impressed enough that he forwarded my proposal to the state party.
The candidates don’t necessarily have to be committed to winning or even to campaigning. In most cases, they will go into it knowing they aren’t going to win. They just need to be a “place-holder,” willing for their name to be on the ballot as a repository for Democratic votes. If Democrats can push their popular vote total over the 50% mark, Republicans will at least be blocked from claiming, “The people of North Carolina sent us here to do this.”
It won’t dissuade Republicans from continuing their extremist agenda. But it will at least subject everything they do to a legitimacy test, with Democrats able to respond: “No, the people of North Carolina did not send you here, and your ‘majority’ is illegitimate.”