 |
|
demographer
best option for
district draft
Outdated county commissioners’ districts should be redrawn by an independent demographer who makes an objective decision based on the numbers.
The county’s districts haven’t been changed since a federal court forced the drawing of districts in 1992 to give minorities a better chance of election to the county commission. Population numbers have fluctuated since, and one of the county’s two minority districts is probably too dispersed to meet subsequent federal court decisions that limit gerrymandering.
Pender County is going through a similar effort, but the secretive process by which it was initiated has divided the county. A number of plans are now on the table, some which clearly benefit the authors.
We encourage the commissioners to let an expert in demography draft the lines, then hold open forums for input.
Otherwise, not only is it unlikely the federal court will approve the plan, the fallout from “personalized” districts could drive another wedge between voters and their elected officials.