[Mr Chairman! Point of Order!]

Mr. Publisher:

 

5:00 am vs. 7:00 a.m. Not much difference in my book, but then again I'm not exactly a morning person.

 

-Mason

[Mr Chairman! Point of Order!]

TBAR:

 

I think you are out of order for being awake at 5:00 am(!) to engage Mr. Commissioner over this point. Maybe that's why I didn't see you at your office at 10:00 am.

 

-Mason

[Question for Mr. Rountree]

dsp3:

 

One other note: my website (www.friendsofmason.org) was created before the decision was handed down by the Court. With the recent decision, I need to update the site. Unfortunately, I am not as computer-literate as I would like to be. I sure could use a volunteer if you have any ideas.

 

-Mason Rountree

[Question for Mr. Rountree]

dsp3:

 

Sorry for the delay. I was unaware of this topic site until this week. I am very pleased with the decision of the federal judges who held the map drawn by Democrats was unconsitutional. Previously, my district contained six counties, which divided cities from counties in four of the counties. After the decision but before the current map was drawn by the Court, the Republican-controlled State Senate passed a map that placed all of Paulding, Polk and Haralson into the same district, thus putting cities and counties back together again. I strongly supported this proposal.

 

However, because the Democrats failed to pass a map in the House, the Senate map was not enacted into law. As a result, the Court was forced to drew a map that turned out to be far superior to the previous unconstitutional map enacted in 2000. The current map of the 31st District, therefore, is comprised of half of Paulding (basically north of H-120 plus the City of Dallas), all of Polk and Haralson, and the cities of Cartersville and Emerson in Bartow County, plus some additional precincts in Bartow.

 

In summary, I am pleased with the current map, although the 2004 State Senate map was more cohesive for the 31st District than the current one. I think that the Legislature will take up the issue of redistricting in the near future (traditionally, it has been every 10 years), although it may not be in 2005. In particular, I think the Legislature needs to look at the congressional map which was held constitutional by the Court, but which suffers from similar problems as the state senate and house maps. For instance, part of Paulding is in a congressional district with Gwinett, but Cobb is not a part of the District. The map was intended to marginalize the Republican vote by packing it into what the Democrats perceived was a Republican seat.

 

I hope this answers your question.

 

-Mason Rountree

[New house & senate districts defined by courts]

Jim Shurling is running for State Senate in District 37, which, as the Publisher pointed out, is comprised solely of Cobb County (West Cobb now). There has been some confusion over whether Jim is running against me in the 31st District. He is not; rather, he is running for Chuck Clay's old seat against Shawn Davis and Scott Johnson.

[New house & senate districts defined by courts]

In the Chairman's defense, I am sure he was referring to whether Sen. Hamrick would represent Paulding under the recently drawn lines. Senator Hamrick is active in Paulding County and very well liked. However, with the new lines, he was drawn into another incumbent Republican senator's district (Mitch Seabaugh).