Sunday, September 2, 2001
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Sunday, September 2, 2001 |
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U.S. Congressional map sent back to committee
By JOHN
MUNFORD
The first attempt to pass a Congressional redistricting map in the Georgia Senate has been shot down. The matter was sent back Friday morning to the committee that drew up the map, said Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, who represents part of Fayette County. Republicans have lobbied for the map to be redrawn on the basis it favors Democrats. The map would have split Fayette County into two U.S. Congressional districts. Northeast Fayette would become part of the new 13th district along with parts of Cobb, Fulton, Douglas, Clayton, Henry, Rockdale, Newton and Gwinnett counties. The remainder of Fayette would be included in the 7th district along with portions of Coweta, Troup and Spalding counties. Both districts would be open since the 13th is a new district and the current 7th district Congressman, Bob Barr, does not live within the proposed district lines, Seabaugh said. Under the new map, the third district of U.S. Congressman Mac Collins would be shifted to the eastern Atlanta area. Collins currently represents Coweta, Fayette, Troup and Spalding counties, among others. Seabaugh spoke from the Senate floor Thursday to oppose the map, arguing that it "destroyed communities of interest." Seabaugh's main example was Spalding County, which was split into three different U.S. Congressional districts although the county has a population of about 58,000. One of the splits contained just 4,000 people, not even 10 percent of the county's population, Seabaugh noted. The districts should have approximately 629,000 people each, Seabaugh said. "They could have easily put that (area) in another district," he said. "The question is, why did they have to rip that county apart? Small counties struggle to have influence anyway." The Democrats just didn't have enough votes to pass the first version of the map, Seabaugh said. The committee is scheduled to meet on the matter Tuesday, he added. "They're going to try and get the votes they need or tweak the map to get support," Seabaugh said. Seabaugh added that he doesn't think the map would have passed the limitations of the Voting Rights Act. The Republicans will again be shut out of the committee process, Seabaugh added. Seabaugh has contended that the entire redistricting process has been done without regard for the best interest of Georgia's citizens. He was particularly critical of the time frame, saying citizens should have the opportunity to review the maps and issue comments.
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