Wake County residents pack meeting on redistricting plan
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A bill that could shake up the Wake County Board of Commissioners drew criticism at a hearing at the Legislature Tuesday afternoon.
Critics accuse Republicans of trying to lessen the number of Democrats on the board.
Wake county residents packed the meeting. The majority spoke out against the Republican measure in the General Assembly that could reshape the Wake County Board of Commissioners.
"I don't see frankly why the state legislature is getting involved in county redistricting," said Wake resident Kim Hanchett.
"This bill is obviously politically motivated," said Wake resident Nancy Moxley.
Irv Portman, a former Democratic commissioner, addressed lawmakers as well.
"This bill is an abuse of power, rigging of elections is wrong," Portman told the panel.
The proposal is called Senate Bill 181. It increases the size of the Wake Board of Commissioners from seven to nine members.
Currently, members are elected at large; voters in the entire county elect commissioners no matter where they live.
This bill creates two at large seats. The remaining seven members would be elected using the same districts now used by the Wake School Board.
The bill is the brainchild of Wake Republican Senator Chad Barefoot. Barefoot and other SB181 supporters argue the current system isn't fair to rural Wake County voters. They believe voters in Raleigh, the county's biggest city, have an outsized impact and influence on the commission.
"The county commission is a local office, but there is nothing local about running to represent 1 million people," Barefoot told House lawmakers.
Democrats argue the move is a GOP attempt to undo last fall's election results. It was a wave election for Democrats who took control of the board of commissioners.
The Democrats now hold the purse strings on school funding, property taxes, and county money for light rail.
Redistricting could change that.
"This bill is a misguided attempt at changing the will of the people," said one Wake voter who told the panel he was against the bill and lawmakers who voted for it would do so at their own electoral peril.
Despite the overwhelming public sentiment in the committee room against SB181, Republicans voted to advance the bill out of committee in a party-line vote.
The measure is expected to hit the House floor Wednesday for a vote.
While the bill has already passed the Senate, it's still unclear whether there is enough broad base support among Republican House members to pass the bill.
