“From the onset of the 2021 redistricting process, it was clear that Republicans were engaging in questionable practices that subverted their claims of a transparent and open process.

“Now, through testimony provided by Representative Hall, our suspicions have been confirmed. Republicans used secret maps, drawn by unknown actors, to create their enacted maps.

“Republicans abandoned their own commitments to draw fair maps. They lied to the public and drew extreme gerrymandered maps under false pretenses.

“Republicans created a sham process in which the voices of the voters were silenced and ignored. We need to restore the public trust by providing a truly public redistricting process that yields fair maps for the people of our state.”

RALEIGH — Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue released the following statement on the passage of S740:

“In 2019, I released a joint statement with Senators Daniel, Newton, and Hise lauding that redistricting process as one of the most transparent and fair in modern history. Suffice to say that I will not be issuing a similar statement in 2021.

“The Republican congressional map is the product of our worst political instincts. It is an example of how power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

“The Republican map fails academic analysis, it fails to consider public input, and it fails to adequately meet the committee’s own criteria. It is clear that Republicans are leading North Carolina into another decade of litigation and uncertainty.”

The General Assembly is drawing new district maps for North Carolina’s congressional and legislative seats. This is part of a 10-year redistricting process based on national Census data.

As part of our population growth, North Carolina is one of only six states that will gain another congressional seat in Washington.

Representation matters.

And, under Republican leadership, North Carolina’s congressional delegation is not truly representative of the people.

In 2010, North Carolina was represented in Congress by 7 Democrats, and 6 Republicans. By 2012, new Republican maps produced 4 Democrats and 9 Republicans representing our state in Congress — despite Democrats winning over 50 percent of the popular vote.

That level of gerrymandering has left North Carolina voters without true representation in Congress for nearly 10 years.

As our state continues to grow and transform, it is critical that the General Assembly draw district maps that reflect the diversity of our state.

Your voice is a critical part of this process.

Senate Democrats have proposed a congressional map that would ideally result in 7 Democrats and 7 Republicans representing North Carolina.

This proposed map keeps communities of interest intact, and reflects North Carolina’s political makeup as a “purple” state.

If you are invested in North Carolina’s future, and believe in fair maps, we ask you to be a part of the redistricting process at next week’s public hearings on proposed congressional maps.

There will be two opportunities to share your comments:

Monday, October 25: In-Person Public Hearing

3 pm

General Assembly Auditorium

16 W. Jones Street, Raleigh 27601

Monday, October 25: Virtual Public hearing

5:30 pm

Link to Sign Up: https://www.ncleg.gov/requesttospeak/62

Republicans are poised to draw themselves into unchecked power through 2030. Their plans don’t reflect the will of the voters. It is critical that you speak out in favor of fair maps and true representation in Congress.

From the Democratic Leader of the North Carolina Senate:

“North Carolina has barely closed the door on House Bill 2, which was repealed in 2017. It was believed to be the end of discrimination against the LGBTQ community. We worked hard to restore our reputation as a welcoming state.

“Democrats have worked to rebuild public trust, and to show the world that, in North Carolina, ‘y’all means all.’ But we forget that not every state leader truly represents all North Carolinians.

“Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson described the LGBTQ community as ‘filth’ during a recent speech about education. At best, Robinson’s comments reinforce the need to better fund our schools so that we can ensure that students are not taught to hate each other for their differences.

“Robinson’s recent comments about the LGBTQ community do not represent the beliefs of the Senate Democratic Caucus. It is our hope that no educator would ever teach their students to consider another person to be ‘filth’.

“Lieutenant Governor Robinson’s comments are hateful and serve to divide North Carolina. That’s not the kind of leader this state deserves.

“We believe that every person has value, and deserves the dignity of equality. To members of North Carolina’s LGBTQ+ community: we want you to know that you are valued, and the Senate Democratic Caucus stands with you.”

Protect US Women’s Healthcare and codify Roe v. Wade

We didn’t see examples of indoctrination, as the Task Force has claimed.

We didn’t even see violations of the 13 guidelines that this Republican bill is proposing. One analysis reported just three percent of the submissions were violations of Republicans’ 13 guidelines outlined in HB 324.

What I saw in that report was anger and intolerance in the hearts of the people that submitted comments to the Task Force.

What I also saw in that report were teachers trying their best to reach kids and to do their jobs under tremendous stress and difficult circumstances.

It sounds like those teachers were well intentioned. It sounds like some of the parents were well-intentioned too.

It seems that both sides — even the task force itself —need to educate themselves a little.

New experiences, and new ideas are meant to challenge our perceptions. That’s learning.

The fabricated Fox News narrative is that our students are being indoctrinated. On the heals of Trump’s call for a return to “Patriotic education,” earlier this year, the claim that students are being indoctrinated has repeated over 1,300 times on Fox News since May.

In that time, 28 state legislatures have filed or passed bills banning critical race theory in public schools.

While I see anger, and distrust in this task force report; I don’t see indoctrination.

And I see Republicans trying to capitalize on that. Senate Leader, Phil Berger said that HB 324 is a response to the thousands of parents showing up at school board meetings.

This is a case of selective hearing, as Republicans have turned a deaf ear to the thousands of educators and parents also calling for adequate funding of our schools.

I don’t see indoctrination in our classrooms.

I do see dilapidated buildings, overcrowded classrooms, outdated textbooks, teacher shortages, and underpaid staff.

And the unfulfilled court order in the Leandro case to fund our public schools so that every child can have a sound basic education, regardless of their zip code.

Republicans haven’t uncovered indoctrination in our schools.

What they have done with this bill is distract the public, and ourselves, from the real work that we should be doing to improve our public schools.

The latest challenge facing our schools — navigating a third school year in the time of COVID — presents its own problems.

From a legislative perspective, this is a budget issue as much as it is a policy issue.

One of the most troubling outcomes of having been through two school years under the cloud of a pandemic, is how significantly COVID-19 has exacerbated existing problems within our public school system.

The lack of funding that has plagued North Carolina’s classrooms for the better part of a decade, has been compounded during this pandemic.

We are still faced with outstanding funding requirements that we need to meet the state’s constitutional obligation to provide every North Carolina student with a sound basic education.

Other headlines about our schools are politically driven — such as the Republican belief that students are being “indoctrinated” — are a distraction from the real problems that we face.

These are among the critical issues that I will discuss on Thursday, August 12 in a virtual town hall with NCAE President, Tamika Walker Kelly.

I encourage you to join me in this virtual event. This discussion will help to drive the future of North Carolina’s public schools, and your input is vital.

I can’t argue with that. The voter ID amendment got the approval of 55 percent of the voters; and it is our responsibility as legislators to comply with the will of the voters.

The voters said a great deal during the recent election about what they want for North Carolina.

They want photo ID requirements to be in the state Constitution. But this particular conversation ahead of the 2018 elections was a brief one. We had no public debate over how to make this happen. There was no talk of a time line, the cost to local governments, or what kind of IDs would be accepted.

A voter ID amendment was not the only issue on which North Carolina voters voiced their opinion.

Voters spoke up in support for strengthening victims’ rights; protecting the right to hunt and fish; and capping the state income tax rate.

And they emphatically voiced their disapproval for this Republican runaway train in the General Assembly.

The conversation with the voters didn’t end with the passage of a voter ID amendment. When voters went to the polls last month, they laid out exactly what they want for North Carolina: to restore balance in the General Assembly.

Whatever your opinion is on voter ID requirements, or the recent bill vetoed by Governor Cooper, one thing is clear: when it comes to listening to the voters, the outgoing super-majority suffers from a bad case of selective hearing.

Republicans’ false sense of urgency surrounding voter ID has been magnified by the scandal unfolding in the 9th Congressional District race. We do have legitimate threats to fair and free elections. But everyday voters aren’t the problem. Organized schemes by political operatives to defraud vulnerable voters are the problem, and it cannot go ignored any longer.

It bears repeating that this outgoing Republican super-majority has no credibility when it comes to drafting fair, reasonable laws that will provide election security without disenfranchising young, low-income and minority voters. I have no faith in their ability to enact legitimate legislation to this end.

Public trust in our system of government is at historic lows, with only 18 percent of people saying they actually trust the government. The recent election fraud scandal in North Carolina likely hasn’t helped to bolster public trust in our system.

If Republicans were sincere in their attempts to act on the “will of the voters,” they would stop hearing only what they want to hear. Voters want voter ID — they also want new leadership in the General Assembly.

It’s time to listen and learn.

So much of the news cycle has revolved around the courts recently — with arguments concluding over North Carolina’s partisan gerrymandering case and a three-judge panel weighing in our the legislature’s racial gerrymandering case.

With all the troubling, divisiveness that Republicans in the legislature have stirred up since they gained the majority six years ago, they have put the people’s agenda on the back burner in order to pursue a dangerous personal agenda.

That agenda is tied to a series of personal vendettas that have since been played out against Attorney General Josh Stein, Governor Roy Cooper and anyone else with differing ideologies.

Their time in the majority has tested our democracy in a way that we have never seen before. Despite best efforts, the architects of our system of government anticipated this; and the system has ultimately protected the public interest as it was intended to do.

In the past six years, Republicans have had 14 of their most damaging laws struck down in court: from gerrymandering to voter suppression efforts.

After their personal agenda was successfully challenged in court, Republicans are now taking direct aim at the judicial branch itself.

This has been building for some time now, with subtle changes to the courts, starting with the elimination of public financial support for judicial elections, eliminating three seats on the Court of Appeals to block the Democratic governor from making any appointments, making judicial elections partisan, cancelling judicial primaries, redistricting judicial maps to block minorities from serving on the bench and, now, reducing judges’ term to two years.

There is a panicked frenzy surrounding all of this because, regardless of party affiliation, our judges have respect for the Constitution and the three-branch form of government that keeps out of control legislators in check. Judges are refusing to put party before the law.

When your agenda doesn’t hold up in a court of law, then it’s time to reconsider your agenda.

It all comes back to this: we have spent an exorbitant amount of time in Raleigh focused on Republicans’ personal agenda — and not even an agenda of varying ideologies on the economy, environment and education. We have been back in session 15 times since this long session ended in June. Every day has been focused on how Republicans can wrangle more power from the hands of the people.

The Democratic Party’s agenda is broad — we sometimes get criticism for that — because we have so much that we want to achieve on behalf of future generations.

If you assess the bills filed by Senate Democrats in the most recent session, you can see what we intend to do when we break the super-majority in the General Assembly.

Last session, my colleagues filed 17 bills to strengthen public education; 15 bills to strengthen the economy; 12 promoting social justice; 10 addressing public health issues; six bills on poverty and living wages; six on tax reform and fiscal management; and four to protect democratic integrity. Most of these bills never saw the light of day.

Republicans’ legislative agenda cannot be disputed; they have laid it out clearly for all to see.

It’s about power. The accumulation of power without regard for the system of government under which we operate that is constructed in such a way as to prevent any one person or group from amassing too much power.

It is easy to see why people have such a hard time trusting their government. As it turns out, Republican legislators don’t trust the people either.

In our system of government, the power doesn’t belong to one group or another. It still belongs to the people.

Our court system has ensured that power remains where it should be. Though they may try, Republicans in the General Assembly will find that this system of government won’t tolerate their personal agenda.

But recovery hasn’t rung true for large portions of North Carolina.

While most urban areas are again booming, smaller communities and rural areas are still struggling to move forward in a post-recession economy.

Only 14 percent of job growth over the past seven years has been in North Carolina’s rural communities.

For rural North Carolina, the Great Recession at the start of the 21st century was a perfect storm — as the textile and manufacturing jobs dried up across the state and economic growth plummeted.

The global economy has redefined the terms of job growth, with an emphasis on science and technology.

The long-term investments made in and around the Triangle have laid the foundation for job growth in our urban areas. Since 2009, 40 percent of new jobs have been generated in Wake and Mecklenburg counties alone.

Young workers are flocking to where the jobs are — and our smaller communities are suffering for it.

Urban areas aren’t growing as a result of Republican policies in the General Assembly, but in spite of them. Strong schools, public transit and thriving park systems are often noted as primary reasons companies choose Raleigh or Charlotte for expansion. But, travel further outside the beltline and opportunities begin to wane.

Economic inequality is driving a wedge between North Carolina communities. In Asheville, the unemployment rate holds at around 3.5 percent. Meanwhile, Wilson struggles with a 7.6 percent unemployment rate.

North Carolinians are living in two very different realities.

We need a new plan.

More than bringing in new jobs — any jobs — to smaller North Carolina towns; we want to bring in quality jobs for these folks.

We are faced with a double-pronged crisis beyond our urban areas. Unless you live near Raleigh or Charlotte, job opportunities are scarce and those that are don’t offer the level of income that people need.

NC State University economist, Mike Walden’s report on the shrinking middle class in North Carolina should be our wake up call.

Between 2009 and 2016, we’ve lost 81,000 middle-wage jobs and the number of workers under-employed has risen by more than 40,000. Our middle class is shrinking.

This new, post-recession, status quo isn’t working for working families in rural North Carolina. Our kids deserve better — and we can do better.

We can’t tax cut our way out of this problem; it’s more complex than that. An extra $85 a year doesn’t change a whole lot for working families.

If you believe in something, invest in it; invest your time, your money and your energy in making it successful. Republicans haven’t invested a whole lot in North Carolina in recent years.

Most of their time, energy and money have been spent on self-serving interests.

That’s not what government is supposed to be about. Talk is cheap, and families in North Carolina need something more than talk.

It’s time for action.

North Carolina is at a critical crossroads and we have already missed an opportunity to reinvest in smaller communities across North Carolina with the recent budget. Republican tax cuts will cost the state more than one billion dollars by 2020. This is money that needs to be invested in infrastructure that will attract new businesses and education reform so that we have a well-trained workforce ready to take on jobs in emerging industries.

Tax cuts don’t cut it.