Politics

Apodaca, McGrady appointed to special redistricting committee

By Bill Moss, Published: February 12, 2016

State Sen. Tom Apodaca and Rep. Chuck McGrady have been appointed to a Joint Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting that legislative leaders created to redraw the political boundaries if they lose their appeal of a decision that invalidated the current map.

"Even though the State of North Carolina maintains that its Congressional maps are constitutional and remains confident the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately issue a stay, legislative leaders are taking steps to prepare for a possible special session to comply with a federal trial court’s ruling," legislative leaders said in a news release. "These steps are necessary since the Supreme Court decision is expected to come within days of the lower court’s Feb. 19 deadline to redraw the maps."

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) announced the appointment on Friday of Rep. David Lewis and Sen. Bob Rucho as co-chairs and Rep. Bert Jones and Apodaca as vice-chairs.

Other House members along with McGrady were Rep. Bill Brawley, Rep. Tricia Cotham, Rep. Ted Davis, Rep. Jimmy Dixon, Rep. Jean Farmer-Butterfield, Rep. Mike Hager, Rep. Ed Hanes, Rep. Jon Hardister, Rep. Pat Hurley, Rep. Darren Jackson, Rep. Linda Johnson, Rep. Mickey Michaux, Rep. Rodney Moore, Rep. Paul Stam and Rep. Sarah Stevens.

Senate members were Sen. Chad Barefoot, Sen. Dan Blue, Sen. Harry Brown, Sen. Ben Clark, Sen. Kathy Harrington, Sen. Ralph Hise, Sen. Brent Jackson, Sen. Michael Lee, Sen. Floyd McKissick, Sen. Shirley Randleman, Sen. Norman Sanderson, Sen. Jane Smith, Sen. Erica Smith-Ingram, Sen. Joyce Waddell, Sen. Trudy Wade, Sen. Andy Wells.

Among the public hearings the committee will hold is one at UNC Asheville at Robinson Hall at 10 a.m. Monday.
If the campus is closed due to inclement weather, the hearing will be canceled at that location and participants may submit their comments in writing.

The General Assembly is seeking a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court of the federal trial court’s ruling that threw out the congressional districts as racial gerrymandering.

“Due to the extremely tight deadline imposed on us by the federal trial court, we are being forced to hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” Lewis and Rucho said in the news release. “Hopefully, this is an unnecessary exercise since the overwhelming majority of times our redistricting plans have been reviewed, they have been validated as fair, legal and constitutional – and we remain confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a stay.”