SENATE PASSES HOUSE REDISTRICTING MAP

In a showing that the gentleman's agreement is now back in place under Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves (R), there was no debate over the House plan whatsoever in the Senate.

***BREAKING*** - SENATE MOVING TO HOUSE REDISTRICTING MAP

Sen. Merle Flowers (R - Southaven) is presenting it to the Senate now.

ANALYSIS OF FLOWERS SENATE MAP: Not a perfect plan, but not awful like the House map

After reviewing the Senate redistricting plan proposed by Sen. Merle Flowers (R - Southaven), I've got to say that it's not that bad of a map.  In fact, by comparison, this makes the House map created by Rep. Bill Denny (R - Jackson) look even worse.  The Flowers map shows that it is possible to redistrict the state without re-segregating it as Denny did.

Here are some notes:

• 33 of the 52 Senate districts lost African-American voting population when the state as a whole saw its African-American population increase by 0.7%
• That being said, only 4 districts saw any significant decrease in BVAP (black voting-age population), and those districts were 2, 14, 33, and 47.
• Depending on the definition of "districts of influence" one chooses, the number of lost districts of influence is either 2 or 4.  
• If a district of influence is one which has a BVAP of 25%-50%, then there are 15 districts of influence out of 52 under this map.  That's opposed to the House map, which has 19 out of 122. 
• The number of majority minority districts increases by 2 under the Flowers map.
• The reduction of the number of split precincts to 14 is pretty impressive.
• Sen. Bill Stone (D - Ashland) is the only Senator I see that's getting screwed pretty hard.  His district, District 2, is being moved to DeSoto County, and he's being thrown into Sen. Nicky Browning's (D - Pontotoc) district.

I don't think you'll see much rancor over this plan, but we'll see.  The plan is before the Senate right now.

These are the Democrats who voted for the Denny map

Democrats who voted "yea" on the Denny redistricting map:
Rep. Preston Sullivan (D - Okolona)
Rep. Joe Warren (D - Mount Olive)
Rep. Randall Patterson (D - Biloxi)
Rep. Nick Bain (D - Corinth)
Rep. Jody Steverson (D - Ripley)
Rep. Tommy Reynolds (D - Charleston)
Rep. Jason White (D - West)

Also interesting, Rep. Tommy Taylor (R - Cleveland) voted present, even though his constituents are hopping mad over losing his district.  Rep. Chuck Middleton (D - Port Gibson) also voted present.

BREAKING - Denny map passes House 70-49

70 is a high number, meaning some Democrats voted for the Denny map.  I'll get the votes to you as soon as I can.

Rep. Bill Denny (R - Jackson) closes on the Denny map

Rep. Bill Denny: It's good that we can come to this podium and vent.  When I came here in the late 80s, we'd just completed redistricting.  The Speaker told me he couldn't get anyone to be chairman of redistricting.  I told that Speaker that he was making a terrible mistake in asking people to be chairman of redistricting and walked out.  The Speaker then told him he was to be chairman of redistricting.  Denies taking party into account when drawing the lines. Says the Denny map will pass Voting Rights Act muster.  Says nobody knows whether or not we'll run again, so you shouldn't base your vote on that.

Rep. Billy Broomfield (D - Moss Point) speaks against Denny map

Rep. Broomfield: Hat's off to Rep. Scott for putting a map together.  Doesn't take that long to draw a map if you're trying to do the right thing.  In all my time here, I've never seen such blatant disrespect as I've seen from Rep. Denny and other Republicans.  This plan accomplishes nothing.  It takes us back to an era we don't even want to remember.  I'm asking you to vote against this plan.

Rep. Bryant Clark (D - Pickens) speaks against the Denny map

Rep. Clark: If you vote for this map, you are guaranteeing that someone outside of this body will be drawing the lines.  Asks if members are really convinced that the Denny map will pass muster with the courts after wiping out influence districts.  Case law says it is fine to draw maps to increase Republican power, but it is not ok to dilute minority voting strength.

Rep. Alyce Clarke (D - Jackson) speaks against Denny map

Rep. Alyce Clarke (D - Jackson): This map would set minority representation back about 20 years.  Urges folks to do the Christian thing, the right thing, and vote against the Denny map.

Rep. Earle Banks (D - Jackson) speaks against Denny map

Rep. Earle Banks: Interesting that the lawyers involved in drawing the Denny map are at Butler Snow, Haley Barbour's law firm. Urges folks to think about rural Mississippi when voting.

Rep. Willie Perkins (D - Greenwood) speaks against the Denny map

Rep. Willie Perkins: This has been a closed process.  The Republicans are being hypocrites by looking to pass a plan that had less transparency than last year's map.  The only standard this map meets is that it doesn't violate "one man, one vote."

Rep. Cecil Brown (D - Jackson) speaks against the Denny map

Rep. Cecil Brown: Compares the time it took Rep. Scott to draw her plan versus the time it took Rep. Denny to draw his plan.  That's because the objective of Rep. Denny was to draw out white Democrats.  It's an inherently political process, so he has the right to do that.  But he did it by drawing out all influence districts.  To the white Democrats who might be afraid of what the Republicans are going to do to you, what more could they possibly do?  Courts will ultimately decide how this will end, and nobody in the world can tell you what will happen.  Your vote today has no impact on whether or not we will have legislative elections this year. Denny map will diminish African-American inflluence in Mississippi.

Rep. Percy Watson (D - Hattiesburg) speaks against Denny map

Rep. Percy Watson: I'm not going to try to convince anyone to vote any which way on the Denny map.  I can almost predict what the vote is going to be. I've been through reapportionment so many times I can't remember.  Recalls redistricting 20 odd years ago when the Speaker told him "you can have all the districts you want, so long as you give us those skinny-legged white boys." (Not really sure what this meant.) If we're going to have real and significant power in this body, we have to work together.  37 folks haven't ever passed a bill.  This map goes directly against white Democrats in an effort to diminish the power and influence of African-Americans.  You're not going to see another portrait (of an African-American chairman) downstairs in the Ways & Means committee room under this plan.

Rep. David Gibbs (D - West Point) speaks against Denny map

Rep. David Gibbs: My district has been drawn out of Clay County and into Monroe County for no reason.  Clay County is the only majority minority county in that area of the state.  The way the splits in West Point were made were strange.  Something is being proposed aside from just getting a fair plan.  If the districts had run as they do now, my district would make much more sense.  We talk about economic development, but there wasn't any economic development going on in this state until we began to integrate. Compare Mississippi State in 1966 to Mississippi State now.

Rep. Rufus Straughter (D - Belzoni) speaks against the Denny map

Rep. Rufus Straughter:  I've always been a Democrat.  Comes from being taught that when making decisions, you must include all people.  As for Rep. Denny taking 8 weeks to put a map together, "I was born during the day, but it wasn't yesterday."  The influence of African-Americans has been reduced through rule changes by the new Republican leadership.  We ought to be working to make Mississippi the best it can be.  If African-Americans are weakened because you've found a way to pack us, then the state is weaker.  If my forefathers had a choice in which party to join, they probably would have been Republicans because of Lincoln.  But after Roosevelt, things changed.  I would like to see the day we can all get along.

Rep. Omeria Scott (D - Laurel) speaks against the Denny map

Rep. Omeria Scott: Speaks about voter disillusionment, and how that is affected by the lack of influence districts.  If you draw a map that brings in 50 or 55 black legislators, the condition of blacks in Mississippi will never change because of the way race influences this state.  "Black people have always voted for you (whites), but you've always had a problem voting for us."  In order to participate in the electoral process, minorities have to be able to influence their representatives.

Rep. Ferr Smith speaks against Denny map

Rep. Ferr Smith (D - Carthage): Effort of the Republicans is to dilute the power of minorities and Democrats.  The Denny plan packs minorities.  This plan is not beneficial to minorities.  Just makes us weaker and weaker.

Rep. Tom Miles (D - Forest) speaks against Denny map

Rep. Tom Miles: Told the people of Scott County that he would put them first in every decision he made.  Has seen members of the House vote against the interests of their districts because they were afraid of how they would be treated in redistricting.  Urges rural legislators to stick together.  Says the Denny map is metropolitan politics against rural Mississippi.

Good speech.

Rep. Ed Blackmon speaks against Denny map

Rep. Ed Blackmon (D - Canton) begins his speech by saying that he's convinced this won't be the last time the House handles this redistricting effort.  He talks about why districts were packed in the past versus why they are packed now.  In the past, packing was done to ensure that at least some blacks would be elected to office. Now it's done to make sure the number of blacks elected is kept low.

Blackmon says because we (Mississippians) are who we are, and because we did what we did, we have to answer to the federal government.  He goes on to say that there is no need to have 75% or higher black districts in an area such as Jackson any longer.  Says that keeps blacks from influencing other districts.  Goes on to say that the federal government isn't going to stand for a map that squeezes blacks into districts "like sardines."

***BREAKING*** Rep. Omeria Scott (D - Laurel) is introducing a substitute redistricting map

Rep. Omeria Scott (D - Laurel) is offering her map as a replacement for the Denny map.  She compares the benchmark map, last year's House map, the Denny map, and her map, spending a good bit of time on "districts of influence", which are districts in which minorities have the ability to influence the outcome of the election.

Under the benchmark plan, there are 39 majority minority districts. There are many districts of influence: 5 of them were over 35%, 4 were over 30%, 7 were over 25%.  

Last year's House consensus plan had 44 majority black districts, with 8 of those being below 60% BVAP.  There were also many districts of influence: 5 at 40%, 2 at 35%, 2 at 30%, and 5 at 25%.

The Denny map contains virtually no influence districts: 1 at 40%, 0 at 35%, 2 at 30%, and 4 @ 25%.

The Scott map contains 41 majority minority districts, and many influence districts: 3 at 40%, 4 at 35%, 8 at 30%, and 6 at 25%.