What does it mean for Guilford County to have a legislative delegation whose members are heavily weighted on the Democratic side (not counting partial representation by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and Stan Bingham) while both chambers of the General Assembly are flipping to the Republicans?
NC Senate:
27: Don Vaughan (D)
28: Gladys Robinson (D)
NC House:
57: Pricey Harrison (D)
58: Alma Adams (D)
59: Maggie Jeffus (D)
60: Marcus Brandon (D)
61: John Faircloth (R)
62: John Blust (R)
Notably, Adams and Jeffus both currently hold chairman seats on the House Appropriations Committee – seats now in jeopardy considering that incoming Republican House Speaker Skip Stam has the prerogative of appointing members of his own party to the plum positions on the committee in January.
And while Republicans are better represented in the Forsyth County, the delegation includes a prominent Democrat who is poised for a demotion with her party losing control of the Senate. Sen. Linda Garrou currently serves as one of the Senate’s four senior budget writers.
Turning eastward, Republican Thom Goolsby’s defeat of Democrat Jim Leutze in NC Senate District 9, the seat currently held by Democrat Julia Boseman, flipped that Wilmington seat and helped the GOP take control of the Senate. Goolsby’s party is pledging to balance the budget by cutting wasteful spending. During the campaign, Leutze warned that a Democratic loss could result in Wilmington and other coastal areas of the state losing clout: “We have a university here that we want funded. We have a community college here that we want funded. We have a port here that we want improved and the river dredged. We want better highways around Wilmington to deal with our traffic congestion…. We have the film industry that we want to have some subsidies and incentives for…. Political power in the state can move from this coastal region to the Piedmont in a heartbeat.”
Also election-related: Democrat Margaret Highsmith Dickson goes down in Fayetteville in the contest for the seat previously held by Tony Rand, following a round of gutter politics.
9 comments:
we will see if the state representatives will open up the transparency of redistricting or will the do th behind the doors secret redistricting.
As you mention i would like to see bingham and berger completely gone from guilford county they are a waste to this county and do absolutely nothing . I will have a post in future on why we need to get rid of them both for plenty of reasons first being un constitutional under state law
Given the inability of Adams, Jeffus, and Garrou to "man up" to the upcoming 3 billion budget shortfall last year, I'm delighted to see them relegated to the back room. Their destructive influence on the fiscal health of North Carolina is shameful.
How about all districts include as much of an entire county as possible, with all dividing lines predominately N-S with as little E-W as possible to obtain an equal number of voters, with a minimum number of "cusps" as possible?
Re-posting some of my comments from Facebook last night: "A background source tells me Guilford County is required by the Civil Rights Act to have at least one state Senate district and at least to state House seats that are 45 % minority."
Keith Brown tells me he thinks it's time for North Carolina counties to get out from under the Civil Rights Act's representation requirements.
Here's how I responded to that: "I don't know about the rest of Guilford County, but from observing Greensboro elections, I question whether white voters on the whole are willing to vote for black candidates. The only black politician who has ever successfully run at large... in Greensboro is Yvonne Johnson. If a white electorate is unwilling to support black candidates, that puts black candidates at a disadvantage and denies the black community representation that is likely to be receptive to their concerns. I know I'm getting in deep here, but blacks are more likely to be affected by high unemployment, poor education and healthcare outcomes and more vexed relationships with law enforcement (perceptions of harassment, perceptions of slow response time, etc.). You can't say that black residents are necessarily like minded with their white counterparts."
Jordan,
I think the numbers for Bill Randall will show that white voters, at least white Republican voters supported his candidacy well. If white Democrats were as race neutral as white Republicans, he would be on his way to Congress, and we would have two black representatives.
By the rationale you put forward I can make a far better case that the Democrats suffer from extreme sexism as far as their congressional representatives.
With the apparent election of Renee Ellmers to Congress, women make up half of the Republicans elected, while the Democrats have six of their seven part of the ONS good ole boy network.
Oh, does the argument only work one way? Are you going to tell me that white Democrats voted on the issues while white Republicans don't? Get real
As for the 45% minority districts, that is a given under current law, and if white Democrats were as race neutral as they claim to be they wouldn't have to stack their districts.
There is only one Black Congressman (Mel Watt) in a state with an almost 800,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans , so you have a hard time explaining that to Republican racism.
Next it is insulting and foolish to insinuate that serving the interests of the state as a whole by either party or race does not serve the racial subsets.
Just what concerns does the black community have that are not basically the same as the white community? Jobs, Safety, Health, Education?
Give me a break. There is more common ground than some leaders of the community will allow to come to the forefront. It's time for this city to move beyond truth and reconciliation, and grapple with the reality that we can work together to make the city better for everyone, and we don't have to throw money at outdoor ice rinks to do it.
Interesting points, Jon. I'm not sure I follow all of them.
Contemporary black Republicans (to draw a distinction between black Reconstruction Republicans) are a new phenomenon in the South that bears study. I haven't run the numbers, but based on the reactions of black audience members at candidate forums, I would guess that Bill Randall performed better in majority white precincts than majority black and that Brad Miller pretty handily picked up the black vote. My guess is that the small-government, pro-business pitch is less appealing in communities saddled with higher than average unemployment. You could argue that's seeing past color and voting your self interest, unless you believe it's not in any one's self interest to vote Democratic.
I would never argue that white Democrats in North Carolina are past race and able to put aside skin color to be able to vote for the most qualified candidate. Actually, there are two black members of our state's congressional delegation (counting GK Butterfield), but chalk the low number up to white racism as opposed to white Republican racism.
I completely concur on the value of grappling with the reality that we can work together to make the city better for everyone. Truth and reconciliation would be a great starting place.
QUOTE "Notably, Adams and Jeffus both currently hold chairman seats on the House Appropriations Committee – seats now in jeopardy considering that incoming Republican House Speaker Skip Stam has the prerogative of appointing members of his own party to the plum positions on the committee in January."
Hee hee - guess they all should have thought of that On November 2....oh the irony... :)
OH - and I can name MANY Republicans who would have voted in conservatives such as JC Watts, Condi Rice, Clarence Thomas, Rod Paige, Alan Keyes (though he is a little nutso) Mason Weaver or even Lenny McAllister rather than have had to pull the lever for John McCain......
And GEEZ people, quit picking on the dang ice rink.
A correction is in order: After making this post, I realized that it's not a foregone conclusion that Skip Stam will be the next House speaker.
I refrained from giving the Jeffus camp advice about crafting their message on film incentives during the campaign, so don't accuse me of favoritism. The foregoing is a setup for this: On Nov. 3, I wondered why GOP opponents of Democratic incumbents Jeffus, Adams and Garrou didn't deflect the clout argument by pointing out the likelihood of Republican majorities in the General Assembly. Particularly in the relatively close Jeffus-Yon matchup, it seems that that could have made up some of the margin of difference.
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