Thursday, January 26, 2006
Is it division or multiplication? Depends on your party
When the Democrats whacked through county and municipal lines to create a politically weighted new redistricting map in 2001, Sonny Perdue, then in the state Senate, thundered in righteous indignation at how communities across the state were being divided. Fellow Republican Sen. Bart Ladd wept openly that the small towns he loved would have divided representation under the Gold Dome.
Now it's the Democrats' turn to cry.
The GOP-controlled Senate passed a redistricting measure, now before the House, which divides Athens-Clarke County into two Senate districts and deals a blow to Rep. Jane Kidd (D-Athens), who's running for the seat being vacated by Sen. Brian Kemp (R-Athens). The changes make the district a less Democrat-friendly place.
Kidd said last week she intends to fight the remap "to the very end." If the new district lines do pass, Kidd said she was leaning toward going ahead with her Senate race but hadn't reached a final decision.
This issue divides the Athens-Clarke County Commission, which opposes the map, and the Chamber of Commerce, which endorses it. In the debate, a lot of the arguments made a few years ago about communities of interest have been reversed.
The map Republicans want to change, she said, was drawn by a court after the last redistricting suit brought by Republicans and pronounced fair by Perdue. It has proven to be competitive for both parties.
Kidd noted she wasn't in the Legislature when the Democrats drew the 2001 map, which Republicans are already pointing to for political justification. "We're a little blue island in the middle of a red sea, and I want them off my island," Kidd said.
Athens isn't a little town, Sen. Ralph Hudgens (R-Comer), the sponsor of the remap bill, said at Saturday's Christian Coalition kickoff event. It could use more representation in the Senate, he argued, noting that the 13 counties larger than Clarke --- which include the real giants like Gwinnett and Fulton --- have an average of 3.4 senators per county.
"They're complaining because it's bad for Democrats, not because it's bad for Clarke County," Hudgens said.
Hudgens said theLegislature never gave formal approval to the court-drawn map, and the current bill would give it the chance to do so with the new changes.
These redistricting stories, it should be noted, are often fraught with unintended consequences. Ask Roy Barnes.
Higher education politics
Absolutely nothing will come of it --- at least during a year when hunkering down is the watchword --- but it was interesting to read what former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell had to say about education, particularly higher education, last week at a Georgia Public Policy Foundation lunch.
Bell recommended consolidating some state colleges with technical schools and imposing what he called "term limitation" under which HOPE scholarship recipients could not stay in college longer on a "relaxed pace" and other students would have to pay higher tuitions for this luxury.
Bell's most politically sensitive point was about the University System-governing Board of Regents, which he called "an organization of another era." The state should take a close look at how the University System is structured, said Bell, who called on the foundation to issue a white paper on the subject.
Reed trails Democrats
Last week we reported on a campaign poll for Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Jim Martin that showed him leading Republican Ralph Reed by more than Martin's Democratic rival, former Sen. Greg Hecht.
The poll raises a good question, brought up by the Hecht campaign. How did Martin do in a head-on-head with Hecht?
Jay Martin, campaign manager and son of the candidate of the same name, said pollster Alan Secrest was looking solely for who had the better chance against Reed and didn't ask voters to chose between the Democrats.
"It was a general election poll, and it wouldn't have made sense to poll on a Democratic primary question," the younger Martin said.
Now it's the Democrats' turn to cry.
The GOP-controlled Senate passed a redistricting measure, now before the House, which divides Athens-Clarke County into two Senate districts and deals a blow to Rep. Jane Kidd (D-Athens), who's running for the seat being vacated by Sen. Brian Kemp (R-Athens). The changes make the district a less Democrat-friendly place.
Kidd said last week she intends to fight the remap "to the very end." If the new district lines do pass, Kidd said she was leaning toward going ahead with her Senate race but hadn't reached a final decision.
This issue divides the Athens-Clarke County Commission, which opposes the map, and the Chamber of Commerce, which endorses it. In the debate, a lot of the arguments made a few years ago about communities of interest have been reversed.
The map Republicans want to change, she said, was drawn by a court after the last redistricting suit brought by Republicans and pronounced fair by Perdue. It has proven to be competitive for both parties.
Kidd noted she wasn't in the Legislature when the Democrats drew the 2001 map, which Republicans are already pointing to for political justification. "We're a little blue island in the middle of a red sea, and I want them off my island," Kidd said.
Athens isn't a little town, Sen. Ralph Hudgens (R-Comer), the sponsor of the remap bill, said at Saturday's Christian Coalition kickoff event. It could use more representation in the Senate, he argued, noting that the 13 counties larger than Clarke --- which include the real giants like Gwinnett and Fulton --- have an average of 3.4 senators per county.
"They're complaining because it's bad for Democrats, not because it's bad for Clarke County," Hudgens said.
Hudgens said theLegislature never gave formal approval to the court-drawn map, and the current bill would give it the chance to do so with the new changes.
These redistricting stories, it should be noted, are often fraught with unintended consequences. Ask Roy Barnes.
Higher education politics
Absolutely nothing will come of it --- at least during a year when hunkering down is the watchword --- but it was interesting to read what former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell had to say about education, particularly higher education, last week at a Georgia Public Policy Foundation lunch.
Bell recommended consolidating some state colleges with technical schools and imposing what he called "term limitation" under which HOPE scholarship recipients could not stay in college longer on a "relaxed pace" and other students would have to pay higher tuitions for this luxury.
Bell's most politically sensitive point was about the University System-governing Board of Regents, which he called "an organization of another era." The state should take a close look at how the University System is structured, said Bell, who called on the foundation to issue a white paper on the subject.
Reed trails Democrats
Last week we reported on a campaign poll for Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Jim Martin that showed him leading Republican Ralph Reed by more than Martin's Democratic rival, former Sen. Greg Hecht.
The poll raises a good question, brought up by the Hecht campaign. How did Martin do in a head-on-head with Hecht?
Jay Martin, campaign manager and son of the candidate of the same name, said pollster Alan Secrest was looking solely for who had the better chance against Reed and didn't ask voters to chose between the Democrats.
"It was a general election poll, and it wouldn't have made sense to poll on a Democratic primary question," the younger Martin said.
