Friday, August 17, 2001
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Friday, August 17, 2001 |
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Seabaugh doesn't think maps will hold up in court By DAVE
HAMRICK And JOHN
MUNFORD
The state Senate's proposed district map went back to committee for changes last week, but east Coweta's position on the map remained pretty much unchanged when the full Senate approved the map last Friday. Legislators are redrawing both House and Senate districts in a special session, an exercise they go through every ten years to take into account population changes revealed in the U.S. Census. Congressional lines will be redrawn in a second special session once the state Legislature districts are finished. Republican leaders have repeatedly charged that Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature, are drawing the districts in such a way as to unfairly dilute Republican voting strength. "We will almost certainly see the Democrats in federal court," said Ralph Reed, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, in a press release Tuesday. "This map is unconstitutional, it violates the Voting Rights Act, destroys the integrity of local communities and will not withstand federal court scrutiny." East Coweta Sen. Mitch Seabaugh lost a few parts of Peachtree City while picking up parts of Pike and Troup counties. His district retains most of Peachtree City, Tyrone and Brooks, though. Seabaugh said he doesn't think the map will be approved by the U.S. Justice Department, but if it is, the lawsuits over the map will be filed after that, he added. "We have a bad map," Seabaugh said. "... I honestly don't think we'll have to run in these districts." Sen. Greg Hecht, D-Jonesboro, a member of the Reapportionment Committee, said he believes the map is fair, and Republicans' charges concerning the Voting Rights Act are "a weak argument ... being made for political reasons only." The act prohibits redistricting that dilutes minority voting strength. Hecht also defended the splitting of 87 counties into more than one Senate district, something Republicans have criticized. "If you want to dilute the voting power of a county, just solidify it into one district and leave it standing alone as an island," he said. The reason his home county, Clayton, is powerful in the state Legislature, Hecht said, is because it is represented by a seven-member delegation. "The partisan thing would be to lump Fayette and Coweta together with one senator and let them be an island unto themselves," he said. It's also in counties' best interests to have senatorsin both parties, he said. "With a bipartisan delegation, no matter what happens in the Legislature, you have a voice," he said. "If you have a conservative initiative or seek funding for a project ... you gain influence with more votes."
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