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Flagpole Magazine
December 4, 1991
And Yet...
Redistrictiuig and “Lucky Strike Extras”
The Athens/Clarke Unified Government must do some
thing about the election districts. As the government was
set up last year, Clarke county is divided into 8 districts and
2 “super districts." District 9 encompasses Districts 1, 2,3
and 4 and District 10, Districts 5,6, 7, and 8. This gives us
our ten commissioners. It also means that in a local
government election, each citizen must vote for two com
missioners — the one from his district and the one from his
superdistrict.
Now, with the results of the new census on the table,
federal regulations require reapportionment to equal out
the election districts. Two alternate plans have been drawn
up with the help of Linda Meggars, a state official who
advises local governments. One plan would simply adjust
the present system of eight districts and two superdistricts,
while another, more drastic plan calls for the elimination of
what Commissioner Hugh Logan has referred to as “Lucky
Strike Extras" and the implementation of ten uniform dis
tricts.
Is it safe?
Under the existing plan, there are two “safe" districts
and one “district of influence" in Clarke County. These
terms are provided by the U S. Justice department. By their
definition, District 2 is a safe district — 63.31% of the total
population and 58.73% of the voting age population (VAP)
is black. They also consider District 3 to be a “safe" district,
with Blacks making up 57.08% of the total population,
though only comprising 47.52% of the VAP. They also
consider District 6 to be a “district of influence" — with
25.30% of the VAP being Black.
Both of the new plans have been drawn up to maintain
a fair balance between the districts and to maintain fair
minority representation. The first plan, known as plan 1B,
basically re-draws some of the present lines. This plan
would not affect the Black VAP in District 2. It would lower
the Black VAP in District 3 to 41.86%, and lower the Black
VAP in district 6 to 20.74%. Superdistrict 9, which has a
30.92% Black VAP under the existing plan, would remain
virtually unchanged as well.
The second plan, known as plan 2, was drawn up by
Commissioners John Barrow and Linny Bailey with the help
of Linda Meggars and the State's computers. This plan
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would eliminate the superdistricts (Districts 9 and 10) and
re-arrange the county into ten normal districts. This plan
would provide two "safe’ districts with a Black VAP majority
(District 2, with 55.08% and District 10. with 56.03%) and a
"district of influence" (District 3, with a Black VAP of
40.85%).
Proportionally speaking...
The Federal government requires that all election dis
tricts must be in balance with one another. Under the
adopted system of 8 districts/2 superdistricts, the ideal
district size would be 10,949. The present election district
sizes in Clarke County range from 13,454 people (District
8) to 8,145 (District 5). This yields a deviation range from
-25.61 to 22.88, with an average deviation of 14.62.
Under plan 1B, district sizes would range from 11,699
to 10,398, with a deviation range from -5.03 to 6.85 and an
average deviation of 3.46. Plan 2, with the elimination of the
superdistricts, calls for an ideal district size of 8,759.
District sizes under this plan range from 9,099 to 8,438 —
a deviation range from -3.66 to 3.88 and an average
deviation of 2.01.
The politics of districting
On Nov. 20, the Athens/Clarke commission held a
preliminary work session to discuss the two proposed
plans. District 4 commissioner John Barrow expressed a
desire to answer to the citizens living in "urban service
areas," those county residents who reside in what used to
be the City of Athens. Complaints have arisen from this
faction of Clarke County voters concerning unfair treatment
vis a vis water and garbage service costs and other issues.
Barrow's plan 2 would provide for four commissioners from
this urban service district.
District 10 (one of the two superdistricts) commissioner
Tal DuVall disagreed strongly with Barrow's sentiments,
insisting that a unified government was what the people
had voted for, and that special treatment or consideration
of this nature would go against the basic ideas of a unified
county. He also warned of “being blinded by the racial
issue," and advised caution in "changing the very form of
government." DuVall has since come out in favor of Plan 1,
which would retain the superdistrict system.
CLIP & SAVE
Tick, lock
The commission must submit a redistricting plan to the
U S. Department of Justice for approval before the next
election. Primaries for Athens/Clarke commissioners begin
will be held this summer. Although the Justice Department
claims that it would take no more than 60 days for approval
to come through, Clarke County Board of Elections Chair
man Dot Barrett would like to see a plan chosen as soon as
possible, so if the first plan submitted is rejected, there is
ample time to modify it to the Justice Department’s stan
dards. If a plan has not been adopted by the July primaries,
then any elections could be declared void by the federal
government, a situation which almost occurred with the
elections of last November.
And Yet...
The chief concern of many on the commission is simpli
fication. Too much switching of district lines could confuse
the public as to which district they actually live in. But a
young government that has caught a lot of flak in the past
year might need to center its attentions on a plan that will
work in the long run. Commissioners DuVall and Tom
Chasteen were extremely vocal at the Nov. 20 meeting
about the importance of changing the existing form of
government as little as possible. Both DuVall and Chasteen
aresuperdistrictcommissioners. If superdistricts are done
away with, then they could find themselves running against
other incumbent members of the commission. Perhaps it
is the fear of losing their seats which makes them such
strong advocates of no change. The fact remains that the
US Justice Department has the final say as to how Athens/
Clarke county draws its ellectorial districts and the num
bers will be the deciding factor.
The commission will meet for another work session on
this issue on Dec. 9.
Enough for this week. Next week — a look at street
vendors, just in time for the Xmas shopping season Until
then, stay informed. Go to commission meetings They 're
held in City Hall, usually every Tuesday at 7p. m. The best
information is first-hand information, so take th*» time to
watch what your elected officials are doing with your
money.
W.M. Overend
——————————————————-1
Thursday, Dec. 5
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Striped Bass w/ Lime
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Soup-Sopa de Lima
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Saturday, Dec. 7
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Blackened Red Snapper
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Appetizer: Fried Calamari w/Marinara
Soup-Rockefeller
Friday, Dec. 6
Snow Grouper
w/ Mussel Saffron Sauce
Tournadoes Retain
Appetizer: Squid in Wine Sauce
w/ Puffed Pastry
Soup-Bahamian Seafooa Chowder
Sunday, Dec. 8
Chicken Olympia
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Monday, Dec. 9
Stuffed Duck Breast
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Fresh Catch of the Day
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Tuesday, Dec. 10
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