And we're off ...
Well, a federal court let the redistricting split of Athens-Clarke County stand, and they probably should have seeing I couldn't find any constitutional problems with this one. That isn't to say this wasn't a partisan move by the Georgia GOP - because it blatantly was - but partisan moves aren't always unconstitutional, so here we are.
Though I think the lawyer for the state is forgetting a bit of his history when he says this:
It is a dangerous, dangerous path to go down to say a federal district court should second-guess a state legislature when we're talking about a plan that is presumptively nondiscriminatory.
A 'dangerous, dangerous path' like, say, using a state legislature to deliberately punish and divide local governments comprised of different political persuasions ... and to do so without any consultation of the people who live in said local community?
So this puts Rep. Jane Kidd in a difficult State Senate race with Republican Bill Cowsert, who is a pretty likeable and popular guy who earned the endorsement of the Athens Banner-Herald the last time out. Kidd's got good name recognition, but in a Republican-leaning district with a personable opponenet like Cowsert, it'll be one of the tougher races in the state.
On the other side, Democrat Mac Rawson will challenge Sen. Ralph Hudgens for the latter's seat. Rawson is the Democratic version of Cowsert in my mind - a personable, likeable moderate who I think will play a lot better in some of those rural counties than one might think. Plus, there's a lot of local discontent with Hudgens, particularly in Madison County. Madison County Commissioner John Scoggins has been rumored to be very displeased with Athens' least-favorite state senator. A smart campaign might lead to a closer-than-expected race here, if not an upset.
Though I think the lawyer for the state is forgetting a bit of his history when he says this:
It is a dangerous, dangerous path to go down to say a federal district court should second-guess a state legislature when we're talking about a plan that is presumptively nondiscriminatory.
A 'dangerous, dangerous path' like, say, using a state legislature to deliberately punish and divide local governments comprised of different political persuasions ... and to do so without any consultation of the people who live in said local community?
So this puts Rep. Jane Kidd in a difficult State Senate race with Republican Bill Cowsert, who is a pretty likeable and popular guy who earned the endorsement of the Athens Banner-Herald the last time out. Kidd's got good name recognition, but in a Republican-leaning district with a personable opponenet like Cowsert, it'll be one of the tougher races in the state.
On the other side, Democrat Mac Rawson will challenge Sen. Ralph Hudgens for the latter's seat. Rawson is the Democratic version of Cowsert in my mind - a personable, likeable moderate who I think will play a lot better in some of those rural counties than one might think. Plus, there's a lot of local discontent with Hudgens, particularly in Madison County. Madison County Commissioner John Scoggins has been rumored to be very displeased with Athens' least-favorite state senator. A smart campaign might lead to a closer-than-expected race here, if not an upset.
posted by Jmac at 8:05 AM
2 Comments:
Now, why don't you Athens political bloggers get off your duffs and make this the topic of discussion for the first Athens political podcast? Huh???
Has anyone tried to get together? Maybe someone should roam around with a recorder and ask questions.
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