
Redistricting in North Carolina: We Are Not Stupid. Try Harder.
This is the full text of my statement at the public redistricting hearing held in Raleigh on 8/22/2017:
I have looked over these maps. I have read about them in many different publications, in many different media. I have downloaded the PDFs full of statistics that were released just yesterday. And what I have to say to Republicans on the redistricting committee is this:
The people of North Carolina are not stupid. You need to try harder.
In the first place, I’m thinking about this ruse Republicans have carried on — that they’ve been scrambling to draw these maps over the last two weeks. That this is why the public couldn’t see the maps until a couple of days ago. Why the statistical analyses weren’t released until yesterday — barely 24 hours before this hearing. And yet, right there on the map, moved from district 34 to district 31 is one Senator Andrew Brock, who resigned back in June. And I am told that the maps also do not reflect changes made to precincts in Wake county way back in April.
So, what I would like to know is, what dusty drawer in Mr. Hofeller’s office have these maps been sitting in for the last 6, 8, 10, or 12 months?
Like I said. We are not stupid. Try harder.
Furthermore, we all know that North Carolina is a purple state. Every time there is a statewide election the vote is split roughly 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans. And yet these maps have been designed so that Republicans retain not just a majority, but a supermajority, in the legislature.
This is after you received an avalanche of public comment stating that North Carolina voters want fair, impartial districts that represent voters, not parties. Instead of listening to these public comments, which the court ordered you to do, Republicans in the legislature have decided to protect their oligarchy and continue to disenfranchise North Carolina citizens who want to have an equal voice in their government.
And we know that you are playing these disgraceful political games with our votes rather than creating an equitable democracy. We know that you are more interested in making North Carolina a billionaire’s paradise, where the rich no longer contribute to society, and the poor go without healthcare and basic services while their homes are sprayed with garbage juice and their water is polluted by coal ash.
We know this because we are not stupid. And so I am telling you on behalf of my fellow citizens — You need to try harder.
And if you want a specific criticism, your Polsby-Popper scores suck.