McKillip's Strong Hand on Redistricting

I wasn't at redistricting forum at Clarke Central High School, and in a lot of ways, I'm glad I wasn't. There are a lot of people frustrated over the redistricting process right now, mostly due to newly-Republicanized Representative Doug McKillip (he still has that new ideology scent on him) and his plan to draw his own maps for Athens-Clarke County's local districts.

Here are the facts, and if you're not frustrated, you ought to be. McKillip can draw his own maps. He can put them in front of the General Assembly for a vote and they can pass, without you or me getting a chance to even look at them, much less express an opinion.

He's holding a lot of cards, and Athens, there's not a lot we can do about it.

As a citizen who lives here, McKillip has every right in the world to draw his own maps, same as you or I do. But he's got a few advantages we don't have.

The biggest one is the map-drawing software itself. You need some specialized applications to do it right and make sure you have roughly the same number of people in each district. That software will set you back thousands of bucks, close to $50,000, I hear.

The citizens committee appointed by Mayor Nancy Denson has this computer program, or at least their consultant does. So does the Reapportionment Office up at the Capitol. You're not going to find it down at the , though.

So, while McKillip can produce a relatively complete map, his fellow citizens in Athens-Clarke County are limited to showing up at public forums and criticizing what's already been proposed. And it's worth noting that we've yet to see anything from McKillip on which we can provide any input.

The other advantage McKillip has is his access to the people who will ultimately decide what our local districts will look like -- his colleagues in the House and Senate. It gives him an opportunity to bypass the local process -- one that, so far, he has taken full advantage of.

Remember, we haven't seen his map, and the citizens committee haven't scheduled any more public input sessions where we might see it.

Make no mistake, if McKillip gets a map of his own design to the floor, it's going to pass, at least in the House. The R next to his name, and the apathy from 177 other House members who don't represent Athens-Clarke County virtually assures it.

Frustrated yet? 

We've been dealing with redistricting on the local and state level for a few months now. If you ask anyone associated with the process, like the members of the local committee or the reporters who cover it, about redistricting, they're probably going to resist the urge to vomit. 

Redistricting is a sleazy, disgusting process, and it's engineered to be that way from the get-go. Why? Because we let the politicians draw their own district lines. It's kind of like allowing state prisoners to hire their own guards and design their own security system, except in redistricting, the object is to stay in as long as possible.

Oh, you thought redistricting was about you and your vote? It is, to the extent that the politicians who control and ultimately vote on the process want to make sure your vote helps (or at least doesn't hinder) their odds of getting re-elected.

If the redistricting process makes you feel like you need a shower, you're not alone. It was a tainted process when Democrats managed it ten years ago, and it's equally tainted now that the Republicans are in charge.

The best part is, there's not a whole heck of a lot we can do to change it. In a perfect world, we'd take the redistricting power out of the hands of the politicians whose fortunes are directly tied to the districts they get to draw, and place it instead in an independent and non-partisan group. The problem is, to do that would require a vote from (drum roll, please) the politicians at the Capitol.

It's a perfect closed system, brought to you by the state constitution.

Back to McKillip. There's nothing in the world stopping him from drawing his own local map, dropping it in front of the legislature when they meet next January, and securing its passage, all without Athens-Clarke County seeing it. Nothing at all, except perhaps a shred of common decency. 

After all, the foxes are guarding the redistricting hen house. Let's hope we're not completely clucked come January.