Campaign Watch: Redistricting Public Hearings this Tuesday
Concerned citizens will have their chance this week to tell the General Assembly’s redistricting committee how you think it should handle new legislative district maps it is obliged by court order to produce this month.
The hearings will be tomorrow (Tuesday, August 22) at 4 p.m., at seven locations:
Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (Caldwell County)
Building B, Room 104
2855 Hickory Blvd., Hudson, NC 28638
Central Piedmont Community College (Mecklenburg County)
Hall Building, Rooms 215/216
1112 Charlottetowne Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204
Fayetteville Technical Community College (Cumberland County)
General Classroom Building (GCB), Room 108
2817 Fort Bragg Rd., Fayetteville, NC 28303
Guilford Technical Community College (Guilford County)
Medline Campus Center, Room 360
601 E Main St., Jamestown, NC 27282>
Halifax Community College (Halifax County)
Building 100, Room 108
100 College Dr., Weldon, NC 27890
Legislative Office Building (Wake County)
Room 643, 300 N Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27603
Beaufort Community College (Beaufort County)
Building 9, Room 953
5337 US Hwy. 264 East, Washington, NC 27889
The rules for comment require signing up at the sites (beginning at 3 p.m.), limiting each speaker to three minutes, and cutting off new sign-ups at 6:30 p.m.
Comments may also be submitted in writing.
The fair elections advocacy group Democracy North Carolina has suggestions for comment themes to encourage fair and competitive district maps. Their suggestions can be found here.
NCLCV agrees that fair and competitive legislative district maps are necessary for a functioning democracy. Without them, it becomes all but impossible to hold most legislators accountable to the public for their environmental and public health decisions. Here are three key talking points from NCLCV on how good environmental policy requires fair voting maps:
#1: Good environmental policy requires good environmental policy-makers. If current elected officials are not sharing our values for clean air and water, then we have the right to support a candidate who does. Gerrymandered voting maps lead to electoral contests that are one-sided, stripping away our ability to elect environmental champions and to vote out those who are passing harmful policies.
#2: Voting is a critical tool for citizens to hold their elected leaders accountable. If our representatives are passing policies that put our environment, health, and communities in jeopardy, we have a right to elect new representation. Voting maps that restrict this right cannot stand.
#3: We need maps that encompass our full communities, not district lines that bob and weave through certain neighborhoods. It is critical that our representatives are able to speak to the issues taking place within our communities: whether it’s addressing serious water quality concerns, increasing access to renewable energy, or protecting species from ongoing development. We need true representation, and that starts with maps that are fair.
Next: this is the FINAL week to speak out to save a critical clean water rule!
