Proposed district maps released Friday would split Beaufort County into two legislative entities and draw two counties out of the district that’s home to Sen. Stan White, D-Dare.
These maps reportedly were designed to comply with federal requirements for states covered under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
But some Washington-area leaders fear the blueprints could diminish Beaufort County’s clout in Raleigh by placing boundary lines between communities of interest.
Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, senior chairman of the House redistricting committee, unveiled the House redistricting plan.
The Lewis plan would form an ostensibly minority-friendly House District 9 in northwest Pitt County. This district would snake through the upper third of Pitt and take in parts of Beaufort County – including all of Wards 1 and 4 in Washington.
It appears the newly configured district also would encompass voters in portions of the Old Ford, Tranters Creek, Beaver Dam and Chocowinity precincts.
Currently, Rep. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, represents all of Beaufort County and eight precincts in northeast Pitt County.
Cook serves on the House redistricting committee.
Cook has gone on record as saying he opposes splitting Beaufort County during the redistricting process, which is conducted by the Legislature every 10 years following the federal census.
Reached for comment on Saturday, Cook said he hadn’t had a chance to study the House minority-districts plan, adding he had pulled some late nights in the Legislature last week and was preoccupied with other lawmaking business.
“I haven’t had a chance to look at any of that; however, I would like to have Beaufort stay whole,” he said.
He confirmed Lewis hadn’t apprised him of the plan.
“We’ve all been working very hard,” Cook said.
He said the House adjourned Saturday and would take up redistricting in a special session in July.
“That’s the next big thing,” Cook concluded.
On the Senate side, Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, chairman of the Senate redistricting committee, released a minority plan that would affect Senate districts.
This plan would carve up Senate District 1.
White, who represents Beaufort County and seven other counties in the northeast, serves the 1st District.
This new district would pair District 1’s Tyrrell and Washington counties with other counties – including Martin County – in a new Senate District 3.
Based on reports he’s getting in the state capital, White isn’t sure the maps will pass muster with the feds.
“Certainly the Democrats are going to have their own version (of the maps), and the black caucus, I believe, is going to have their own version,” he said Saturday.
It looks as if Beaufort County would stay in White’s district, but that’s not guaranteed.
The draft redistricting plans, which haven’t been approved by the Legislature, were condemned by three key political leaders in Beaufort County and met with skepticism from Bill Booth, president of the county NAACP.
“I’m not in favor of splitting Beaufort County,” said Booth, adding he wanted to check into the plans and figure out how and why the proposed House district was shaped as it appears on the draft.
Booth withheld further comment pending his investigation of the matter.
“We would be very disappointed to see Beaufort County split at the state House level,” said Greg Dority, chairman of the Beaufort County Republican Party.
Dority has traveled to Raleigh to provide input to lawmakers involved in redistricting. He has advocated not dividing the county among two or more legislative districts.
Dority recalled the last round of redistricting led to a lawsuit by Republican legislative leaders and other GOP activists. That lawsuit resulted in a court ruling that counties should remain whole in legislative districts whenever possible.
The lead plaintiff in that lawsuit was Beaufort County resident Ashley Stephenson, who passed away in 2010.
“I would remind my colleagues in Raleigh that 10 years ago when Beaufort County was split it led to the lawsuit and the Stephenson decision,” Dority pointed out.
“I think this configuration is very unlikely to come out of the committee,” he continued. “It would certainly change the dynamics for Bill Cook, but would also hamper a Beaufort County Democrat trying to run. … I don’t think anybody in Beaufort County would be pleased with this plan. We want to make sure the leadership in Raleigh understands that splitting precincts in Beaufort County … would be unlikely to stand up to a strong legal challenge.”
Surry Everett, chairman of the Beaufort County Democratic Party, echoed Dority’s consternation, but in a wholly different vein.
“I’m upset that they’re splitting Beaufort County,” Everett said. “I don’t see why they have to do that. It’s an obvious continuation of the Republican attempt to water down Democratic votes at the district level. There’s not really been enough time to really adequately study it. … That’s all it is, an attempt to gerrymander districts with more Republicans in it than Democrats.”
Everett iterated his conviction the House district doesn’t have to be drawn this way to meet federal population guidelines.
“I have no objections to them creating minority districts that are created in accordance with the Voting Rights Act,” he said. “I don’t think this is necessary, and if it had been in the past somebody would have said something.”
Of Cook, a freshman legislator, Everett said, “Bill is a nice guy. He’s a newbie. There’s nobody (that’s) going to pay any attention to him. I wish him well, but he’s a newbie. And he’s going up there with a preconceived notion that things are going to be done right by the Republicans, and we know better.”
Also registering his objections was Washington Mayor Archie Jennings.
“My initial reaction is extreme disappointment and concern,” Jennings said. “Obviously the ideal situation would be for Beaufort County to remain intact.”
The county is already divided by the Pamlico River, he observed.
“And that’s a challenge to us, to make sure that everybody in Beaufort County receives equal treatment already,” Jennings added. “To have any part further separated and put into a different district is going to be very difficult. I can’t imagine why anybody would think it’s wise to split the city of Washington.”
The city and the county are separated by two congressional districts: the 1st District, held by Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., and the 3rd District, held by Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C.
In Washington, the rough dividing line for these districts is Market Street, with Jones’ district stretching to the east and Butterfield’s to the west in the city.
But, at present, the city and county are whole and intact in the legislative districts in which Cook was elected and White was appointed, following the resignation/retirement of longtime Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare.
It was unclear Saturday when complete redistricting maps would be available for review.
A public hearing on the maps is set to run from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. Thursday at multiple, electronically linked locations. For more information on the public hearing, visit the General Assembly’s website at: www.ncga.state.nc.us/sessions/2011/publichearings/redistricting.html.
“We have decided to focus this public hearing on proposed legislative Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) districts and four other proposed districts,” the House and Senate redistricting chairmen said in a joint statement issued Friday. “We have chosen this option because of the importance of minority voting rights.”