Parent Press: Special Session December 2023
This is the season of merriment, but here at the Capitol we have been on the Special Redistricting Session battleground to fight for equal opportunity at the ballot box for minority voters and Black voters in particular. Being in the minority, we Democrats have no power to determine the outcome. Despite this, we did what we could. We used our voices to create a lasting record of the shell game that the Republicans are playing on the maps -- one that played out at the expense of Georgia voters and taxpayers.
We Said They Said
The Federal Court Order: The Order is long and thorough - 516 pages. Bottom line, Judge Steve Jones states that the state legislative and congressional maps drawn by the Republican majority in 2021 violated the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by not allowing an equal opportunity for Black voters to elect the candidates of their choice. Many of you will remember that the Supreme Court decided in Rucho v. Common Cause in 2019 that the federal courts would not get involved in partisan gerrymandering, despite stating that it was incompatible with democratic principles. I personally deplore this decision. Gerrymandering weakens democracy, and America, in numerous ways.
Fast-forward to 2023, when the Supreme Court decided a new challenge to the Voting Rights Act in Allen v. Milligan, wherein the plaintiffs argued that Alabama's congressional districts violated the Voting Rights Act. To the surprise of many (including me), the Supreme Court held that racial gerrymandering was still illegal under the Voting Rights Act. This decision is what allowed the lawsuit against Georgia's congressional, House, and Senate maps to go forward. This background is important because under today's law as dictated by the Supreme Court, racial gerrymandering is illegal (at least when it involves Black voters), but partisan gerrymandering is not.
Judge Jones prescribed a remedy for the dilution of Black voting power under Georgia's maps by spelling out which districts were in violation, directing legislators to re-draw the maps for him to review.
We said, they said: Throughout committee hearings and floor sessions, Democrats said "the Republican maps drawn in 2023 do NOT comply with the judge's order," while Republicans claimed that their maps do comply with the order.
Bottom line: If Judge Jones finds that any of the maps are out of compliance with VRA, he will appoint a special master to draw the maps. He has scheduled a hearing on the maps that the General Assembly just passed (with zero Democratic votes) for December 20.
The Maps: Map drawing is complex, as is reading the maps. I am sharing Fair District Georgia's scorecards as they may help you understand the changes Republicans and Democrats presented respectively and the implications of these proposals. When the plaintiffs in the lawsuit go back before Judge Jones, I expect you will hear various arguments, including (for the Senate map) that these districts still violate the VRA, as well as Judge Jones' order, by not drawing new majority-Black districts where the Court found that voting discrimination was occurring. What this means: Judge Jones told us to draw new majority-Black districts around the south-metro area (Henry County, for example), where Black voters were being packed into a small number of districts and then cracked among a number of conservative, white, rural districts. The Republicans did not do this. They simply re-shuffled Black voters who are already in majority-Black districts in that part of the State into new configurations, changed the district numbers to try to fake out the Court and the public, and then turned my district and Sen. Esteves' district (Buckhead/Cobb) into majority-Black districts to be able to claim that they added majority-Black districts, even though no voter discrimination was found in our areas. We expect that the Judge will not buy this game, but will not know until he rules.
My current district, Senate District 42, is entirely redrawn under the maps passed by the legislature this week. The new district, Senate District 44, includes all of Decatur and Druid Hills, but would no longer have Brookhaven, Oak Grove, and Medlock Park, for example. Completely new to the district is a good part of Clayton County, namely Morrow, Forest Park and Ellenwood. The demographics of this new district are different, in that the Republicans decided to draw this district as a majority-Black Senate district in their shell game attempt to be able to claim they satisfied Judge Jones' order. I am confident in being able to win a Senate seat in the newly-drawn district and, most important, to be able to represent all constituents, regardless of race, socio-economic status or geographic location.
We said, they said: Senator Echols, the chair of the Senate Committee on Reapportionment, stated that the maps were being redrawn because "we were being sued by democratically affiliated groups." Democrats argued that the maps were being redrawn because the 2021 maps are unlawful as they violated the VRA.
Bottom line: Several non-partisan groups and constituents came to testify before the House and Senate Committees on Reapportionment, but not one applauded the Republican drawn maps. Only objections and concern were heard, though this fell on Republican deaf ears. While I await Judge Jones evaluation of these new maps, I, along with several of my colleagues in the House and Senate, will prepare to embrace a new district and plan for the May 2024 primary election.
The Media Had A Lot To Say
Extra extra....read all about it...click on the links below to read some of the coverage.
I Had A Lot To Say
I was pleased to be invited to explain the impact of the Senate maps in general and on my district in particular. You can watch and listen at GBP's Lawmakers (tune in at 20 minutes). My colleagues in the Senate spoke and I spoke for hours from the well, to unmask the motivations and priorities of our Republican colleagues who hold the power to pass all legislation in both the Georgia House and Senate. Click on the dates below to watch and listen.
Games Being Played
Republicans could not resist the opportunity to play politics during the special session, and they didn't stick to redistricting. The Governor also took advantage of legislative session to call for accelerating his tax cut for 2024. The State has a huge ($16 billion) surplus due to overly conservative revenue projections and federal money from the pandemic. Rather than invest these funds in Georgians, in literacy programs, healthcare, maternal health, public safety and underpaid state employees, Governor Kemp wants to "help" Georgians with trickle-down one-time give-aways that we already know don't yield meaningful returns. As a member of the Committee on Appropriations, I heard a parade of state agencies plead for funds to pay state employees to retain qualified, experienced staff. I spoke again on the final day of the special session to call the Governor out on his policy to continue to essentially bankrupt our state government and the public programs that Georgia families count on.
The Republicans were definitely using this special session - at taxpayer expense - to begin to implement their game plan for the 2024 election. They played divide and conquer in the House and Senate with resolutions related to the Middle East war. They called for a vote on a resolution to support for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center while condemning acts of violence and domestic terrorism, which could have a chilling effect on the right to peacefully protest without fear of prosecution or worse.
Honoring Our Former First Lady
It was my absolute honor to pay tribute to Rosalynn Carter at the beginning of the session. You can hear my brief remarks by HERE.
Moving Forward
I am confident in being able to win a Senate seat in my newly drawn district and, most important, to be able to represent all constituents, regardless of race, socio-economic status or geographic location. With more than 12 years of experience in the Georgia General Assembly, my relationships and experience are deep and wide. I look forward to building bridges to communities that may be new to me but whose issues and needs are the same ones I have focused on throughout my career - namely, adequately funded quality education, access to healthcare, safe neighborhoods and economic opportunity and security. I will, however, need your continued support.
Support My 2024 Campaign Today
I wish each of you and your families a happy holiday season. Thank you for the opportunity to serve and represent you in the Georgia State Senate.