This week’s “Worst Week in Raleigh” award can be divided sevenfold between the seven Democrats who serve on the Wake County Board of Commissioners. Democrats achieved a huge victory in Wake last November, sweeping the entire board in spite of a national Republican wave, giving them unanimous control of the Commission. This feat was not altogether surprising: Kay Hagan’s certain victory in Wake and the lack of ticket-splitting made a Democratic sweep of the board a near-certainty from the beginning.
Democrats had precious little time to enjoy their victory, however. On Wednesday, the Commissioners got an unwelcome surprise when Sen. Chad Barefoot (R) introduced a bill that would redraw the Commissioners’ districts. The new method for election would likely give a boost to the GOP and is a possible indication that Democrats’ control of the Board will be short-lived.
Barefoot says the current system for electing members is archaic, makes campaigns overly expensive, and denies representation to rural and suburban residents. He has a point, but the possible partisan motivation is causing Democrats to lash out. So soon after their victory, it’s like Barefoot has decided to pull the rug out from under them. Democrats aren’t happy. They’ve blasted Barefoot, the bill, and the process. But in a General Assembly with a GOP supermajority, their concerns are likely to fall on deaf ears.
The good news for Democrats: realistically, Republicans cannot take back the Board until 2018 at the earliest, giving the current Commissioners more than enough time to enact their preferred policies. And even then, it’s hardly a guarantee the GOP will be well-poised to win the requisite number of districts. While 5 of the 9 newly-drawn districts went for Thom Tillis, they went for him by the barest of margins and the county continues to trend blue. It’s not at all a stretch that Democrats will be able to win just one of the Tillis districts by then, allowing them to maintain control of the Board despite a map that favors the GOP.
Still, should this bill become law, Wake Democrats will be on a short leash, as some of the Commissioners will have to run in more GOP-friendly districts the next time around, which might make it a little tougher to pass the items on their agenda. Even if the bill won’t go into effect until 2016, life just got harder for all seven commissioners.
Democrats on the Wake County Board of Commissioners, for getting the rug pulled out from under you just four months after your sweeping victory, you all get to share this week’s “Worst Week in Raleigh” award. Congrats, or something.
These other folks had a bad week in the past:
February 27, 2015 – Tony Tata
February 20, 2015 – Jeff Jackson (best week in Raleigh)
February 13, 2015 – Dana Cope
February 6, 2015 – Thom Tillis
January 30, 2015 – Julia Howard
January 9, 2015 – NC House Democrats
Do you know an NC political figure who had a bad week? Nominations are accepted in the comments, or you can e-mail us. Tell us why you think they’re worthy of the award.
John Wynne is the “conservative voice” at PoliticsNC, where he also provides polling analysis and commentary on legislative campaigns. When not writing about politics, he enjoys gardening and listening to opera. Contact: johncwynne@gmail.com.
I find it interesting that my election countywide is somehow a threat to Democracy itself, but Three of the Four County Constitutional Officers, all elected county-wide, are Republicans, and they were elected in the same election I was: the Sheriff, the Clerk of Court and the Register of Deeds.
“A national republikan sweep”? when a right-leaning company’s tabulation machines count the vote, and vote verification is either legally prohibited by trade secret protections, or the verifications are performed using the exact same machines, vote swapping is the easiest thing in the world to get away with – we’ve seen it in election after election since 2000; nothing else explains why or how the most detested party in the history of this country can continue claiming to win one improbable election after another – and then rubbing the people’s nose’s in republikan hubris. As Joseph Stalin’s said: ” I care not how someone votes, I care only about who counts the vote” – and that in a nutshell sums-up ‘the republikan national sweep’. If the voters do not begin demanding independent/transparent vote verification – which simply requires a printed receipt of the vote cast, then the republikan brown shirts will lock-down the entire country under their corporately controlled thumb.
John, you like Barefoot are “hollarin down a rain barrel” if you think that redistricting county commissioners here in Wake County will serve the GOP….do you really think Democrats will cede you any ground in this County. Sorry. Odd that if you guys cannot win you like to change the rules. What does that say about your characters and maturity? Not so much.
And yet, George Holding had little no trouble winning his rather large chunk of Wake County. Not sure if Dems or Wynne are seeing all of the factors in play here.
I just think it’s interesting that the Republicans managed to gerrymander things in such a way so that even though Tillis lost Wake County at 42% to 55% for Hagan last year he still won in 5 of the 9 proposed County Commision districts….now that takes some gerrymandering skills!
For the record, this is not a new addition to their play book. Eric Foner points out in his brilliant book “Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution” that NC Redeemers* forcibly redistricted the Wilmington City Council. Then as now, this state’s reactionaries didn’t like cities getting “uppity.”
*Reverend Barber has made a solid case that today’s Conservative Revolution is essentially a replay of Redemption.
You mean the people of Wake County had the worst week in Raleigh because of this effort at partisan gerrymandering. They go from having seven commissioners who have to compete for their votes, to two in relatively safe seats who can ignore them. This was expected and wildly predictable. That is what happens when you put Party ahead of your oath of office. So much for conservatives wanting local control, free markets and competition. If you look at the districts, it does not ensure Eastern Wake has representation as claimed as a reason by Sen. Barefoot. He must believe Franklin County has no representation since he doesn’t live there. To quote Ronald Reagan on such gerrymandering schemes, they are ‘antidemocratic and un-American.’ What to crap all over your own principles.
If this happens I wonder if there will still be the annual redistricting after the 2020 census, and if so who would be in charge of that redistricting? The County Commisioners or the General Assembly? My theory is that if the Democrats manage to hang on to a majority in Wake County after this comes to pass (b/c honestly who expects the Senate or House to not pass this) the General Assembly will do the redistricting, if Republicans retake control then the County Commisioners would be in charge of redistricting after the 2020 census…..