Map courtesy Politics NC[/caption]Not content just to push North Carolina away from longer early voting periods and Medicaid expansion, state senators now have turned their attention toward setting the table for local governments.
Three bills have passed the N.C. Senate that would dramatically alter voter districts and, in some cases, even the number of seats on the Greensboro City Council, Wake County Board of Commissioners and the Rockingham County Board of Education. At least, Rockingham County voters would have a chance to pass or reject the Senate’s plan in a referendum. Voters in Greensboro and Wake County would not have such an option.
Where is all of the disdain for “big government” that Republicans supposedly champion? What business does a state senator from Wilmington or Asheville, for example, have in voting for fundamental changes in the way residents of Greensboro, Wake County or Rockingham are represented by boards that serve local concerns and local concerns only?
We can only imagine the outcry if Congress decided to shake up the way members of the N.C. General Assembly are elected. Come to think of it, maybe that isn’t such a bad idea.
Let’s hope the N.C. House looks at this giant power grab in a more rational light.
