Thread by @lekhashupeck

We are here at Central Piedmont Community College for the Mecklenburg redistricting public hearing! #ncpol

It should get going in just a few minutes. At 3pm. On a work day. 🤦🏽‍♀️

So far we haven't been able to access the wifi so I'm not sure how successful my live tweeting will be as the reception here is terrible.

The meeting opens - the chair asks for applause to be brief and as quiet as possible, maybe in response to the sometimes revival-tent-like atmosphere in Cullowhee

Sen. Paul Newton is the chair presiding and it looks like pretty much the full complement of Mecklenburg representatives and senators are here

Newton starts calling speakers.

Lucille Howard asks for compact contiguous maps with no political data. Asks for more hearings. Urges the committee to seize the opportunity to restore public confidence.

John Lengle of Davidson asks for Davidson to be kept within a Mecklenburg county district rather than being paired with part of another county. Talks about commercial and Healthcare ties to Meck for the area.

Linda Traum of Charlotte and local LWV. Says gerrymandering violates one person one vote. Talks about cuts to early education.

Harry Taylor with the LWV says that single hearing after proposed maps is unacceptable. Says his districts changed in 2019 and it was the first time his candidates of choice won. He wants all voters to be able to vote for competitive candidates.

Says we can have gerrymandering or democracy but not both

Susanne Elsberry comments on the vast majority of districts being uncompetitive. She asks for transparency and fairness.

Terry Taylor Allen talks about gerrymandering as an addiction to power which has sickened our democracy. Calls out the hypocrisy of legislators saying they will be fair and creating an unfair and inaccessible process.

Paulette Keffas Chasin of Cornelius cites the Carolina Journal article which stated that Republicans planned to create a 10-4 gerrymandered Congressional map.

North Carolina is a 50/50 state and the Congressional maps should be proportionate to that. Ask for Sen. District 41 to stay the same not go back to its previous gerrymander.

Rev. Corinne Mack of Mecklenburg NAACP says the wicked spirit of racism is still alive and well. Redistricting should be equitable and focused on justice. Asks for fair lines to be drawn that don't split precincts, cities, or towns.

She says she doesn't want to see maps that help white people but are hurtful to others.

Linda Levy of Charlotte & Meck LWV says she's worried that maps will not be fair. Says that having only one hearing after proposed maps excludes the public from the process.

Armando Cruz Martinez of NALEO Educational Fund - his org has worked for a fair and accurate Census and they are now focused on getting Latinos able to participate in the process. Asks for hearings after draft maps and virtual hearing options.

Asks for the growth of the Latino community to be taken into account and gives this community fair representation.

Bill Fountain of Cornelius says that the local school board is creating tyranny by requiring vaccination. Says undocumented people (he uses a different word) shouldn't be counted for redistricting.

Says communities around Lake Norman including Mooresville should be together in one district.

Barbara Profitt asks for Matthews to be kept whole in one Congressional district. Currently two precincts in the town are split between 9 and 12. Says this makes grassroots advocacy difficult.

Asks for the committee to draw districts that make sense and are competitive.

Cites the Nathaniel Fisher map.

Patricia of Davidson and Cornelius a retired history teacher. Asks for process changes: more hearings especially after draft maps, livestreaming of hearings, more publicity for hearings, and an explanation of any draft maps.

Jennifer says that citizens should choose representatives not the other way around. Asks the committee to do the right thing - I think she's asking for a citizens commission

Susan Hardin secretary of Meck LWV asks the committee to stop gerrymandering. Asks for non-partisan map drawing.

Also asks for COIs to be kept whole including universities. Plus hearings after proposed maps.

Next speaker asks for a non-partisan commission. More public hearings and compact districts that don't split cities. Says the split in Southern Meck for the 9th district doesn't make sense

Says voters want proposed maps to be shared online and a full round of public hearings after they are made public.

Eileen Paroff vice chair of Democratic Women of Meck. Was chair of precinct 69. Split precinct made voter turnout difficult, 2019 made that precinct whole and helped make grassroots work easier.

Angela of Charlotte says she had to reschedule clients at her business to be here. Says only holding this round of hearings is "perfunctory optics." Asks for proposed maps to be put online with mapping files, and a second round of hearings afterwards.

Incumbency should be the last consideration in drawing maps. Asks the committee to delay the primaries to allow for a more trustworthy process.

Mark Taylor of Charlotte says he is in NC-9 which goes all the way to Lumberton - says his community has completely different concerns than those more rural areas - is very closely connected to the rest of Charlotte.

Mark Wilson of Charlotte is a history teacher at UNC-C. Young people don't have confidence in the legitimacy of our system bc gerrymandering. Asks for independent non-partisan commission.

Jane Whitley is chair of Meck Democratic Party. Describes her neighborhood which has gone back and forth between NC-9 and NC-12. 2011 Senate district was very gerrymandered. This is not what democracy looks like.

Meko McCarthy lives on the west side of Charlotte which is subject to gentrification. She likes her current legislators and wants to keep them.

Mark Allen of Charlotte - courts have made it clear that gerrymandering is unconstitutional in North Carolina and the public wants non-partisan redistricting. Mentions the Nathaniel Fisher map.

Says gerrymandering is the will of the people being drowned. Asks committee to use Fishers map as the basis for our Congressional maps

Janice Robinson of Meck Democratic Party - from Valentine - describes her very diverse community and the lack of well funded public education and health-care. Precincts in her area have changed districts often.

Ballantyne, sorry!

Asks for a non-partisan citizens commission.

Greg Finnegan - I can't really hear him

Chair of Union County Democratic Party from Monroe - current House districts split Monroe between 55 and 69. Monroe is a strong community of interest and the split is confusing for voters. Asks for Monroe to be kept whole, particularly the downtown precincts.

Asks for hearings after proposed maps.

Laurence Tolliver asks for towns and cities to be kept whole and also districts should be competitive. Says faith in democracy has persisted even with the knees of the legislative majority on our necks.

Huntersville town council member asks for Huntersville and Cornelius to be kept together. And for hearings after proposed maps.

Celia Gray from the west side of Charlotte - describes a past long, snaking precinct that she used to be in which was confusing for voters. Says districts should follow main roads and school districts.

Next speaker works to register Latino voters and long time Charlotte resident. Says district changes have been confusing. Asks for a fair map that protects minority voters - those are her values as a person of faith.

She wants people to feel that their votes count. She's also tired of paying for lawsuits. She says legislators can't be impartial so we need a non-partisan commission.

Jonathan asks for a non-partisan commission. He brings up the idea that if districts were more competitive we wouldn't need the term limits some people are asking for. And it would lead to more voter interest.

Steve Justice of Davidson says the committee needs to recognize communities of interest and city lines. Cornelius, Huntersville, and Davidson has strong community ties and should be kept together and whole in the same districts.

Kendrick Cunningham says he lives in the southwest corridor which is a gerrymandered area. Says his community shares public spaces and grocery stores and can't get coordinated representation bc it's split into four districts.

He says socio-economic gerrymandering is as important as political gerrymandering and those factors should be taken into account.

Rotrina Campbell, organizer for @CommonCauseNC and resident of Charlotte. Asks for communities to be kept together and a transparent process. Gives an example of split communities that can't advocate for their interests.

Points out that some of the largest counties, Wake and Guilford aren't getting their own hearings. Asks for hearings after proposed maps.

Betty Gunns if Charlotte - lives near Freedom Park, is speaking for her grandchildren's future. Asks for fairness - no partisan gerrymandering.

Beth Wells of Charlotte is an unaffiliated voter. Says she is disappointed in the lack of transparency and access to public hearings - they have been poorly publicized, many large counties excluded, and physical challenges not accommodated.

Says NC constitution asks the committee to draw districts for the good of the whole.

Leigh Coulter is from Union County. Worked with cooperative extension and farmers markets. She says the area is ex-urban. Her precinct is in Senate district 36 with Cabarrus even though their interests are completely different.

Cabarrus part of the district has the interests of farmers, not of a fast growing urban area. Asks for her area not to be paired with Cabarrus.

Tony Mosier of El Centro asks the committee to take into account socio-economic factors when drawing districts, not just political ones. Asks for Latino communities to be kept together.

Carolyn Everly of Waxhaw is director of Indivisible District 9. Her community is Waxhaw, Weddington and Wesley Chapel. They have issues with public services. She asks for this community to be kept whole in all districts and paired with Charlotte.

Her community has shared interests with Charlotte, not far away counties like Robeson. Asks for hearings after proposed maps.

Maytee Sanz says southeast Charlotte where she lives has much different interests from the rural counties in NC-9. Names the specific townships that should be kept together.

Cynthia Wallace from southeast Charlotte, ED of New Rural Project. She says that this hearing was inaccessible to the people in the more rural counties of NC-9. Specifically Richmond County had no hearings closer than a 1 hour drive.

Asks for a hearing in Richmond County after proposed maps - also asks for a virtual and phone option for giving testimony.

President of historic Camp Greene neighborhood association, asks for precincts to be kept whole.

Aimy Steele former candidate for H-82 and ED of New North Carolina Project. Says that districts should follow natural boundaries. Voters are confused by the constantly changing districts. Asks for fair maps that keep communities of color whole.

Catherine Whitmire lives in southeast Charlotte and NC-9. Says it doesn't reflect her community - all of her community activities take place in Charlotte. The rural counties in the district deserve representation that serves them as well instead of someone who loves in Charlotte.

Meredith Richie of Charlotte - a friend of the previous speaker, their houses are within walking distance but they are in separate Congressional districts. She thinks Charlotte should be a community, not a pie politicians can divide as they see fit.

Michael Evola of Union County asks for an independent non-partisan commission. Asks for an ASL interpreter so deaf and hard of hearing people can fully participate.

Next speaker is from Charlotte and asks for an independent non-partisan redistricting commission, says this is the only fair way.

Rodney Moore is a former NCGA member, speaking as member of Meck NAACP. Asks for a fair and equal process without partisan considerations. Partisan gerrymandering is tied to racial gerrymandering because of POC voting patterns in NC.

Rashan McClendon of Gaston County, founder of Gaston County freedom fighters and vice chair of Gaston Democratic Party. Says voter apathy is a serious issue when doing grassroots work.

Steve Martin of Mecklenburg, was a Republican voter before 2016. Volunteered for the first time to canvas NC-9. Says committee has the chance to do the right thing - horrible misinformation is taking root and legislators need to fight the lies.

Sandra Noble of Second Chance Alliance says that the times, dates, and notice for these hearings were inaccessible to people like her - single parents who need to pick up their children from school. Inaccessible to normal working people in general.

The location is inaccessible because it is far away from any bus stop - people who use public transportation can't get here.

Alyssa of NC Counts Coalition - worked to get a fair count in the Census. Gentrification is running rampant in Charlotte and it is exacerbated by gerrymandering leaving people without representation.

Collette Alston of Matthews, president of African American caucus of the Meck Democratic Party - precinct numbers are tied to accessibility of health care, rate of incarceration of Black people, funding of education.

Smaller cities and towns should be kept whole.

Next speaker from NC -12 says that partisan gerrymandering isn't right even if SCOTUS won't deal with it. Asks committee to use efficiency gap to analyze districts.

Bill Georgio of precinct 51 - can't hear him well - is talking about how gerrymandering contributes to voter apathy. Asks for more public hearings. No splitting of precincts, counties.

John of precinct 1 in Charlotte - keep districts compact.

With that the hearing is adjourned.

Is this @EveryVoiceNC s alternative universe version?