A comparison between our map and the Republican map show that our plan is actually more fair and legal than the Republican proposal.
http://www.ncleg.net/gis/randr07/District_Plans/PlanPage_DB_2011.asp?Plan=Congressional_Fair_and_Legal&Body=Congress
• Partisan Competition
The majority’s map does not honor the partisan balance that exists in North Carolina. The majority’s map is, in effect, a 10-3 Republican map when an honest and realistic historical analysis is done. Our map accurately reflects the partisan preferences of North Carolina. We are a roughly 50-50 state as evidenced by historical election results. The majority has stated that at least one district –CD 12 -- was drawn based on the Obama-McCain results. So, let’s use that as a measure to compare the majority’s map and our fairer and more legal map. (As a reminder, President Obama carried North Carolina by only 14,000 some votes.) Under the majority’s map, President Obama would have carried only 3 of the 13 congressional districts and Senator McCain would have carried 10 districts. You find similar results using the statewide votes cast for each party’s candidate for Congress. Under our map, President Obama would have strongly carried 4 congressional districts, Senator McCain would have strongly carried 5 districts, and 4 other districts would have been more competitive. (Strongly carried = 55%+)
• Double Bunking
North Carolina has a fairly long practice of equitable congressional redistricting. In the last round of redistricting, the Democratic leadership made several accommodations to incumbent Republican Members of Congress. And, not in recent memory, if ever, have incumbent members (Ds or Rs) been put together in a congressional redistricting map. The majority’s map breaks that historical tradition and “double bunks” four Democratic Members of Congress (and interestingly, no Republican members). Our fairer and more legal map does not “double bunk” any incumbent member.
• Compliance with Voting Rights Act
We believe that the majority’s map fails to comply with the Voting Rights Act in two ways. First, it does not show due regard for the Section 5 communities in CD 1. It ignores counties relating to retrogression and that African-American voters are “packed” into districts so as to lessen their influence in the remaining districts. First, the law (and subsequent court rulings) does NOT require that the Black percentage in CD 1 be over 50%. The majority is using that claim and other incorrect VRA claims in order to justify the partisan gerrymander that they have perpetrated in the remaining districts. Our fairer and more legal map protects CD 1 consistent with what the laws requires…while at the same time keeping CD 1 a basically rural, Eastern NC district.
• Following Public Input
Unlike the majority, we have taken to heart many of the comments that were made online and in the public hearings. To us, the public comment opportunities were not just a dog and pony show, but rather a real opportunity to hear what the voters of North Carolina wanted to see in redistricting maps. We heard and responded to the citizens of Northeastern North Carolina who asked us to keep the 1st CD as intact as possible and a district with a rural focus. We heard and responded to the citizens of the Triangle who asked us to keep a congressional district focused on the Research Triangle Park. And, of course, some of the loudest protests in the public hearings came from the western part of our state regarding Asheville and Hickory. Unlike the Republican majority, we heard and responded to the citizens in western North Carolina, and our fairer and more legal map maintains a “mountain” district with Asheville wholly contained in the 11th and keeps Catawba County remains whole within the 10th CD.
• Compactness
By any measure, our fairer and more legal map is more compact and protects communities of interest far better than the majority’s map.
The majority’s map splits 40 counties…40% of all of the counties in North Carolina. We have had time to do some limited research and have not found another state that comes anywhere near that percentage of its counties split in a Congressional map. (Oklahoma is the highest we have found splits 28.6% of their counties.) The current 2001 congressional map splits 28 counties. Our far and legal map splits only 26 counties…And 10 of those because of the 1st CD and 5 because of the 12th CD, one of the most litigated CDs ever.
At the precinct level, our fairer and more legal map splits 55 precincts, while the majority’s map splits 76 precincts.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Stan White: New Senator
With the pending resignation of Senator Marc Basnight; The North Carolina Democratic Party 1st District Senate Executive Committee met on Friday, January 21, 2011, 6:30 pm at Tyrrell Hall in Columbia, NC. Pursuant to the NC General Statues and the Democratic Party Plan of Organization, the committee elected Stan White, of Nags Head, to recommend to the Governor for appointment to fill the vacancy of the District 1 seat of the NC Senate. With seven candidates nominated for the seat there were multiple ballots; Mr. White was elected unanimously on the fourth vote.
Stan White has 14 years of experience serving the people of northeastern North Carolina; nine years as a Dare County Commissioner (three years as Chairman) and currently he is finishing a decade of service on the NC Transportation Board. A native of Dare County, he graduated from East Carolina University and owns Stan White Realty & Construction. He is well experienced in serving the needs of coastal North Carolina. The Democratic Party has chosen a well qualified professional to fill this office and continue the tradition of outstanding leadership for the people of the 1st District. For more information contact Chris Hardee, District Chairman at 252-216-7900.
Stan White has 14 years of experience serving the people of northeastern North Carolina; nine years as a Dare County Commissioner (three years as Chairman) and currently he is finishing a decade of service on the NC Transportation Board. A native of Dare County, he graduated from East Carolina University and owns Stan White Realty & Construction. He is well experienced in serving the needs of coastal North Carolina. The Democratic Party has chosen a well qualified professional to fill this office and continue the tradition of outstanding leadership for the people of the 1st District. For more information contact Chris Hardee, District Chairman at 252-216-7900.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Basnight Vacancy
January 15, 2011
With the pending resignation of Senator Marc Basnight; The North Carolina Democratic Party 1st District Senate Executive Committee will meet on Friday, January 21, 2011, 6:30 pm at Tyrrell Hall in Columbia, NC.
The agenda will be to discuss and fill the remaining vacancy of his term as directed by NC General Statue and the NC Democratic Party Plan of Organization.
Interested parties or people with questions can contact Chris Hardee, District Chairman at 252-216-7900.
With the pending resignation of Senator Marc Basnight; The North Carolina Democratic Party 1st District Senate Executive Committee will meet on Friday, January 21, 2011, 6:30 pm at Tyrrell Hall in Columbia, NC.
The agenda will be to discuss and fill the remaining vacancy of his term as directed by NC General Statue and the NC Democratic Party Plan of Organization.
Interested parties or people with questions can contact Chris Hardee, District Chairman at 252-216-7900.
Friday, November 12, 2010
The Top Ten Most Gerrymandered Congressional Districts in the United States
The Top Ten Most Gerrymandered Congressional Districts in the United States
Well at least NC-3 was not the #1 district, but it and 2 others in NC are listed here.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
AP-GfK Poll bolsters congressional Democrats
WASHINGTON – There's encouraging news for Democrats battling to retain control of Congress in this fall's elections, with the party holding a slender edge in public trust for shepherding the economy and small gains in those saying their finances are healthy, according to a new poll.
The reeling economy remains people's top concern, according to an Associated Press-GfK Poll conducted earlier this month, making public attitudes about it crucial for both parties' hopes in November. The good news for Democrats: By a margin of 47 percent to 42 percent, people trust them more than Republicans to guide the economy, and slightly more — 64 percent — say their household budgets are in good shape.
In addition, people want Democrats to win control of Congress by a 46 percent to 39 percent margin. That is the second straight month in which Democrats have held a delicate advantage on that question since April, when 44 percent preferred Republicans and 41 percent picked Democrats.
"When Clinton was in office, we were doing exceptionally well. Then Republicans got in office and we are where we are," said Daniel Lowery, 23, a warehouse worker from Fostoria, Ohio, who wants Democrats to continue leading the House and Senate.
Even so, there's plenty in the poll to encourage Republicans, and nothing that contradicts many analysts' views that the GOP has a solid shot of capturing majorities of one or both chambers of Congress.
The public's anti-Washington mood remains robust, with 55 percent saying they want a new member of Congress — bad news for Democrats with more incumbents to defend. A low 24 percent approve of how Congress is doing its job, a hefty 72 percent still say the nation's economy is in poor condition, and 77 percent consider huge federal budget deficits a top concern.
"It's just my conservative views on taxes, on how involved government gets in people's lives," said Jessica Iskander, 25, a homemaker from Hartly, Del., who wants Republicans running Congress.
People also remain upset about the anemic job market and the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. President Barack Obama gets mediocre marks for handling the economy, unemployment, the deficit and the oil spill, numbers that over time could rub off on congressional Democrats.
"They're leading us down the wrong road," Raymond Beard, 60, a minister from Crowville, Ala., said of Democrats. "They're doing a lot of things against what I was raised to believe, such as going to a socialist-type government where the government takes care of people instead of people taking care of themselves."
Other questions in the poll point to Democratic advantages.
Congressional Democrats get a thumbs-up from 38 percent, modestly more than the 32 percent who approve of how Capitol Hill Republicans are doing their jobs. When it comes to performance on major issues, Democrats have taken a solid advantage over Republicans on handling health care and have narrowed the GOP edge on defense and immigration.
"You have to spend all this money," John Gillies, 71, of Houston, a Democrat in the oil and gas business, said of why he favors Democratic efforts to revive the economy. "If you try to balance the budget at this point you'll break it, and you have to tax people like me who have money."
Since the April 20 Gulf oil rig explosion triggered a massive leak that remains unplugged, the oil spill has rocketed to such prominence that 87 percent consider it a major concern, trailing only the economy's 91 percent.
Fifty-two percent disapprove of Obama's handling of the crisis, a weak number that parallels the public's dissatisfaction with President George W. Bush's performance in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath in 2005. The one saving grace for Obama — the public is even less happy with BP, with 83 percent condemning its effort to stop its leaking well.
The AP-GfK Poll involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,044 randomly chosen adults and was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications from June 9-14. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
By ALAN FRAM and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers Alan Fram And Trevor Tompson, Associated Press Writers Wed Jun 16,
The reeling economy remains people's top concern, according to an Associated Press-GfK Poll conducted earlier this month, making public attitudes about it crucial for both parties' hopes in November. The good news for Democrats: By a margin of 47 percent to 42 percent, people trust them more than Republicans to guide the economy, and slightly more — 64 percent — say their household budgets are in good shape.
In addition, people want Democrats to win control of Congress by a 46 percent to 39 percent margin. That is the second straight month in which Democrats have held a delicate advantage on that question since April, when 44 percent preferred Republicans and 41 percent picked Democrats.
"When Clinton was in office, we were doing exceptionally well. Then Republicans got in office and we are where we are," said Daniel Lowery, 23, a warehouse worker from Fostoria, Ohio, who wants Democrats to continue leading the House and Senate.
Even so, there's plenty in the poll to encourage Republicans, and nothing that contradicts many analysts' views that the GOP has a solid shot of capturing majorities of one or both chambers of Congress.
The public's anti-Washington mood remains robust, with 55 percent saying they want a new member of Congress — bad news for Democrats with more incumbents to defend. A low 24 percent approve of how Congress is doing its job, a hefty 72 percent still say the nation's economy is in poor condition, and 77 percent consider huge federal budget deficits a top concern.
"It's just my conservative views on taxes, on how involved government gets in people's lives," said Jessica Iskander, 25, a homemaker from Hartly, Del., who wants Republicans running Congress.
People also remain upset about the anemic job market and the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. President Barack Obama gets mediocre marks for handling the economy, unemployment, the deficit and the oil spill, numbers that over time could rub off on congressional Democrats.
"They're leading us down the wrong road," Raymond Beard, 60, a minister from Crowville, Ala., said of Democrats. "They're doing a lot of things against what I was raised to believe, such as going to a socialist-type government where the government takes care of people instead of people taking care of themselves."
Other questions in the poll point to Democratic advantages.
Congressional Democrats get a thumbs-up from 38 percent, modestly more than the 32 percent who approve of how Capitol Hill Republicans are doing their jobs. When it comes to performance on major issues, Democrats have taken a solid advantage over Republicans on handling health care and have narrowed the GOP edge on defense and immigration.
"You have to spend all this money," John Gillies, 71, of Houston, a Democrat in the oil and gas business, said of why he favors Democratic efforts to revive the economy. "If you try to balance the budget at this point you'll break it, and you have to tax people like me who have money."
Since the April 20 Gulf oil rig explosion triggered a massive leak that remains unplugged, the oil spill has rocketed to such prominence that 87 percent consider it a major concern, trailing only the economy's 91 percent.
Fifty-two percent disapprove of Obama's handling of the crisis, a weak number that parallels the public's dissatisfaction with President George W. Bush's performance in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath in 2005. The one saving grace for Obama — the public is even less happy with BP, with 83 percent condemning its effort to stop its leaking well.
The AP-GfK Poll involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,044 randomly chosen adults and was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications from June 9-14. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.
By ALAN FRAM and TREVOR TOMPSON, Associated Press Writers Alan Fram And Trevor Tompson, Associated Press Writers Wed Jun 16,
Friday, April 16, 2010
Fellow Democrats,
Early voting for the May 4 Democratic Primary opens on tax day -- this Thursday, April 15. Contact your county's board of elections for information on early voting locations in your area: http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/content.aspx?id=13. Please encourage your like-minded friends -- especially those who do not usually vote in primaries -- to study the candidates and vote. This is your chance to shape the face and future of the Democratic Party.
Additionally, please visit http://www.nc3dems.com for information on upcoming information about candidates, links to candidates' Web sites and information on the May 15th district convention.
Early voting for the May 4 Democratic Primary opens on tax day -- this Thursday, April 15. Contact your county's board of elections for information on early voting locations in your area: http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/content.aspx?id=13. Please encourage your like-minded friends -- especially those who do not usually vote in primaries -- to study the candidates and vote. This is your chance to shape the face and future of the Democratic Party.
Additionally, please visit http://www.nc3dems.com for information on upcoming information about candidates, links to candidates' Web sites and information on the May 15th district convention.
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