Thread by @lekhashupeck

Just got here for the Elizabeth City Redistricting Public Hearing! #ncpol

Sen. Warren Daniel is starting off the meeting.

Rep. Bobby Hanig and Rep. Edward Goodwin are both here as well.

Sen. Daniel starts with the online sign up. Sue Englehart is called.

Englehart says she's a member of the LWV. She says voters should pick their leaders and not the other way around - legislators drawing the districts is a conflict of interest.

She then explains how packing and cracking work in gerrymandering and mentions the added challenge of the 14th district. She also mentions that while they're lucky to have this hearing in Pasquotank, many larger counties are left out.

Sen. Don Davis is here now.

Laura Overstreet, also from the LWV, speaks next. She talks about the importance of public participation and transparency.

She also mentions the importance of communities of interest and compliance with the VRA.

She also says that the 2019 redraw did not fix gerrymanders - calling out the number of safe seats that were retained.

Rep. Howard Hunter is here as well now.

Tara Fox, also of LWV, says that they expect the legislators to meet the same standards that the Pasquotank county commissioners are meetings - they've signed a resolution establishing what she says is a transparent and non-partisan process.

Rep. Linda Cooper-Suggs is here as well now.

Rev. Michelle Lewis, ED of Peace Garden and a candidate for US Senate. She says that the number of hearings is inadequate and the timing is inaccessible for rural working people.

She also asks for the establishment of a non-partisan commission.

Missed the name of this participant. She says she is in the 1st Congressional district and is happy with that district. She says there's no reason to move Perquimans county out of that district.

She also says it's a waste of money to keep drawing districts that get litigated.

Shelley Jackson of Hertford County - she's concerned that her rural district could be gerrymandered to benefit urban areas. She says that urban areas are funded by special interest groups (???)

Alex Urban (?) is advocacy coordinator for a Latinx advocacy org. He says that there are large barriers to the community he works with are too high - without language access.

The burden falls on orgs like his to translate and disseminate information when that work should be done by the legislature.

He also says a virtual option for participation is necessary for everyone, not just English speakers.

Mary Cassidy of Perquimans County says she's concerned that her rural district will be gerrymandered to the advantage of urban areas.

I can't tell if people are talking about legislative or Congressional districts when they mention district 1 - the descriptions seem to go back and forth

The next speaker talks about the decrease in population in Northeast NC makes her worry that the area will be eliminated as a community of interest. She talks about some of the particular concerns of the area including lack broadband access and mental health treatment.

She asks for transparency including being able to see maps before they are voted on.

Claude Dorsey Harris of LWV and Currituck County public hearing - he asks for a robust public hearing schedule after maps are released.

He also asks for an easily accessible website for all redistricting information and to publicly release all public comments and live stream hearings.

Also all map drawing should be done in public and proposed maps should have documents explaining the choices made released with them.

Tim Bryn (?) of the Perquimans County GOP notes that other GOPers can't be here because they are on the road back from work. He says that Republicans in the area don't care about redistricting and that all previous processes have been fair.

He says their area is a community of interest that has not been historically heard but now has an established power base (?) and asks to "keep [the area] as it is.

Carol Terrberry (?) of the local GOP thanks the committee for banning the use of partisan and racial data, complying with Stephenson criteria, and the whole county provision.

She says communities of interest should not be prioritized because no one agrees on what they are.

Phil Pratzer (?) says he doesn't trust either party to draw fair maps and wants an independent commission.

Fred Gates (?) from Windfall in Hertford. He says maps are drawn to give people the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. If districts are stacked to the point that he is mistreated, he warms legislators that he will be watching.

Next speaker says she found out about this event at 12pm and learned what gerrymandering was at 12:30pm and so isn't prepared. She says that her current representatives are very responsive unlike when she lived elsewhere in the state. She says small towns are different.

Patty Walsh of Perquimans County - she says that she's met her representatives and likes that. She doesn't think that the Census should apply to Perquimans County and all the districts should stay the same. She does not want the area to be redrawn.

Keith Rivers of the Pasquotank NAACP - says that redistricting is about more than lines - it's about education funding, healthcare and other issues. He says that the area doesn't have adequate local news access because of lack of broadband.

He doesn't want the area to be paired with far away cities like Raleigh. He wants compact maps that keep current districts together.

James Sears of Gates County - says that 20 years ago Gates was split and he hopes that won't happen again - he wants a plan that respects communities of interest here and keeps Gates whole.

Wesley Stokes, chairman of Washington County Dems, says he hopes that this hearing is not a façade - he doesn't want racial gerrymandering like in 2011. Previously Washington County was split in an awful way by racial gerrymandering.

Holly Audet (?) says she's asking that only population be considered and no other factors. She says local people don't care about race or gender. She wants a map that keeps people who share things in common together.

There are no more people signed up to speak and Sen. Daniel calls the meeting quickly to a close.