Statewide Database | Redistricting News

GOP might miss power to remap

Florida Times-Union, The ( Jacksonville , FL )

March 5, 2006

Republicans finally get to make the rules in the most important aspect of the political game that determines their continued dominance -- namely redistricting -- and now Sonny Perdue wants to turn over the power to a nonpartisan commission.

Perhaps others who've been shut out for a century and a third might not be so gracious, so magnanimous, so willing to give away the spoils of victory.

Gov. Perdue signed an executive order Wednesday creating a task force to study a nonpartisan way to handle redistricting . The logical recommendation will be some type of constitutional amendment that switches redistricting power from the legislature to some commission -- though finding people who are "nonpartisan" to serve on a commission could be tricky, as Perdue acknowledges.

Asked if he had consulted with Alec Pointevint, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, Perdue said, "I haven't talked to many people about it, to tell the truth."

Maybe they would have tried to talk him out of it.

Publicly, the party offered no comment other than to say Republicans could win with their ideas and don't need to stack the deck with overly partisan districts.

Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, the highest-ranking Republican in the Senate, welcomed the idea in a quickly released statement.

But the governor didn't exactly sound like the seasoned political veterans Johnson and Pointevint are when he described the ideal district.

"If I could make every legislative district in Georgia, House and Senate, 50-50 partisan -- 50 [percent] Democrat and 50 Republican, I think that probably makes the best kind of districts because you get people who have to be accountable to both sides."

As a state senator, he was elected in just such a district. That's why he was able to get re-elected after he switched parties in 1998.

Of course, it was redistricting that pushed him out of a winnable district, convincing him he might as well run for governor.

Now, he'll soon name the members of the task force so they can begin work in time to meet a year-end deadline to report recommendations to him after he learns if he'll keep the job for a second term.

The nonpartisan concept could help Perdue politically in the short run by neutralizing the platform of one of his challengers, Secretary of State Cathy Cox. Her campaign is based on the idea of her being above partisan bickering and mature enough, as a woman, to work with members of both parties.

If he helped himself on the one hand Wednesday, he caused himself some unnecessary grief on the other. In addition to signing the executive order creating the task force, he also signed Senate Bill 386, which redrew the boundaries of districts 46 and 47 to split Athens in two.

CHARGES OF HYPOCRISY

The new lines put a more Republican tilt to District 46, being vacated by Sen. Brian Kemp, R-Athens, because of his run for agriculture commissioner. Rep. Jane Kidd, an Athens Democrat who had planned to seek Kemp's seat, was disappointed in the bill.

"[It] is really nothing but partisan politics, and it's somewhat greedy by the state Senate because [Republicans] already have a majority, and they're not close to losing a majority," she said.

Signing the bill also makes Perdue vulnerable to charges of hypocrisy. By sundown Wednesday, Democrats had circulated a list of quotes from Perdue, Johnson and other Republicans decrying the partisan manipulation of the legislative districts in 2002 when the Democrats were in charge.

Perdue acknowledged as much at the signing ceremony.

"I didn't want us as Republicans, when we gained the majority, to act just like the Democrats when they were in control," Perdue said.

So why on Earth did he sign SB 386?

Because of his belief in the sanctity of the General Assembly.

He explained before signing the bill that he was surprised at how boldly it altered the lines. Still, he said, it did adhere to the two principles he had stated up front: It kept the population equal in the districts and didn't change the racial makeup.

RELUCTANT TO INTERVENE

Overriding for him was the fact that the Georgia Constitution empowers the General Assembly to conduct redistricting , not the governor. Previous governors, he said, had stayed out of it, with the exception of Roy Barnes, whom Perdue defeated.

Perdue has stayed out of many skirmishes, such as the Vince Dooley/Michael Adams flap, that other governors would have dominated. As he has given up official power, legislators and agency heads have gained it.

Now he is giving away political power. Perhaps, it could be argued, the public is the beneficiary of this transfer.

Politically, newcomers from Republican states will probably continue to swamp the Democratic electorate for a few more years, but when immigrants and younger voters become a bigger factor, the GOP may miss the ability to gerrymander that Perdue says they don't need or want today.

walter.jones@morris.com, (404) 589-8424

Author: WALTER C. JONES

Page: B-1

Dateline: ATLANTA