N.C. Senate Passes Redistricting Plan Along Party Lines

Congressional redistricting is the last major item on the Senate and the House calendars, increasing the odds that the N.C. General Assembly soon will adjourn the longest session in its history.

Sen. Brad Miller, D-Wake, one of the chairmen of the Senate Redistricting Committee, said the Senate legislation mirrors the House plan -- unlike other plans discussed in the past two weeks. "We tried to keep the existing districts, but adding one more to the 12 that are already established was tough," he said.

Miller said it was difficult for Democratic senators to buckle down and approve a redistricting proposal. "We spent two weeks trying to figure out alternatives that would gain House approval," he said. "The House has a dissident wing of the Democratic party and a handful of Republicans that will break away. For them, trying to piece together a proposal was like crap-shooting."

Miller said the plan is a compromise among the Republican and Democratic parties in both the House and the Senate. "The plan came as a bipartisan compromise," he said. "Of course, compromise means no one really likes it. Almost no one ended up with exactly what they wanted."

The plan creates six Democratic districts and six Republican districts. The final district, the 8th District, is considered a tossup. The state now has seven Republican and five Democratic representatives in the U.S. House.

But several N.C. senators disliked the plan, focusing on how it split counties into several congressional districts.

Sen. Fountain Odom, D-Mecklenburg, complained about the lines in Mecklenburg County, which the plan splits between three congressional districts. "In a perfect world ... all counties would stay the same," he said. "But principles have to be followed."

But the amendments were defeated, keeping the Senate and House plans the same. Another plan would have required a conference committee to hammer out the differences, further prolonging the session.

Rep. Martha Alexander, D-Mecklenburg, said she is pleased by the Senate vote. "I think it's great that they passed the same plan," Alexander said.

She said district shuffling is expected during redistricting. "You always have to rearrange things," she said. "One should expect their districts to change a little bit."

But Miller said congressional representatives will matter more than district lines. "Folks in North Carolina will start paying less attention to where the lines are drawn and start paying attention to those who represent them," he said. "People care about what kind of education their kids are getting, their environment, the air and water quality, and healthcare rather than district lines."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.