History of the NC Redistricting Process

by Rep. John M. Blust
Republican Joint Caucus Leader

From: John M. Blust
Date: 2/10/2004

Republicans do not need a plan that favors Republicans.  Republicans just
want fair, neutral, legal constitutional districts that respect
communities of interest and allow voters to decide who holds power at the
ballot box!  North Carolina voters will then choose between the two
competing visions for the future of our state, and very likely, judging
logically from past election results, Republicans will capture majorities
in the state Senate and state House.  Look, for instance, at the election
results from 2002.  Republicans received a healthy majority of the votes,
yet did not get power in the legislature due to unconstitutional
districts.  ...

The Democrats and Morgan, who have given North Carolina the highest taxes
in the Southeast and crushed job creation in this state, know that if they
follow the rules and do what's right with re-districting, they will be out
of power.  So they ignore the law and the Constitution and cheat.  ...

The blame for the delay should logically fall on those who wouldn't follow
the law.  Maybe you can excuse them for the first time they didn't follow
the law, but this is now their third swing!!  ...

The Democrats and Morgan bellyached for months that districts should be
drawn by the legislature, not the judges!  The 2002 judge-drown districts
were clearly labeled "interim."  Maybe our legislative "leaders" didn't
understand that the word "interim" meant the those districts would only
be used for the 2002 elections.  (The judge had to draw them when the
legislature, whose leaders claimed it is a legislative function, twice
failed to draw constitutional districts.)  This means that all along,
everyone knew the legislature would re-draw the districts for a third
time, just as Morgan and the Democrats claimed the legislature should.

So what did Morgan and the Democrats do?  They waited, and waited, and
waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.....
then called a quick session on Thanksgiving week, of all times.  I got my
official notice Sunday afternoon at 2:30 to report to Raleigh for session
the next day at 9:30 am!  That next day, on the House side, no district
plan was available for House members, or for the public, to review ahead
of time.  This is only an issue that will affect state and local
government through the end of the decade!  But Morgan/Black, out of deep
love and concern for the public good, can't allow the public and their
elected representatives see what Morgan/Black have planned for them.
My majority leader, Joe Kiser, refused all day of the re-districting
Thanksgiving special session to hold a caucus and show the plan to members
who would be asked to vote on it, explaining that there was no plan ready.
As Joint Caucus Leader, I asked him to hold a caucus on three different
times throughout the day, and got the same answer each time.  I finally
called a joint caucus to try to help members find out what was going on so
they could make an informed vote - you know, the way a legislature is
supposed to work, but those with the needed information would not show up
and tell the people's elected representatives what they were planning in
the bill.  Our esteemed (I'm joking) Re-districting Committee Chairman,
Rick Eddins, never held a Committee meeting where the members and the
public could see the plans in advance.  He too, claimed there was no plan
ready.

Finally, a plan materialized out of mid-air only 15 minutes prior to the
House session.  When the session conveened, the question was promptly
called and a vote was taken before any member that wasn't part of Morgan's
or Black's inner circles could have any chance to review the plan.
(Reviewing this type bill would take several hours, if not days).  Then,
after virtually no debate on this important bill, the "bi-partisan"
majority voted for the unknown plan when, a short time before, most of
those voting aye claimed they hadn't seen the plan!  ...  Most of those
who voted for the plan did so after seeing their own districts only, and
voted for the plan on that basis, knowing that [otherwise] Morgan would
retaliate against them as he had against those like me who followed
principles, by putting us in the back of the chamber, depriving us of our
secretaries, giving us small offices, killing all our bills, not appointing
us to committees, etc., while he spent lavishly on new and expanded offices
and other perks for himself and his cronies.  ...

If you think Morgan/Black and Basnight are the good guys and Republicans
like me are the bad guys in the fight for good, sound, fair, legal,
constitutional districts that let the voters determine who represents
them, then I've got some land I'll sell you for 43,000 an acre that I
bought for $1,700 an acre a few months ago, like Black/Morgan and Basnight
approved in December.