McCampbell talks redistricting with Demopolis Rotary
Armed with maps, Alabama Rep. A.J. McCampbell explained to Demopolis Rotarians Wednesday, July 26 how the latest redistricting in Alabama could further water down the city’s representation in Montgomery if it is accepted.
McCampbell, representative for District 71, is part of a lawsuit brought against a highly gerrymandered drawing of districts in the state that would go into effect for the 2018 election. The decision is in the hands of the three-judge panel of the 11th Judicial Circuit.
The judges can accept the Republican version, choose a plan submitted by the Black Caucus or even come up with their own.
Currently McCampbell represents portions of six counties in west Alabama, stretching from Choctaw to Tuscaloosa. Under the Republican leadership plan, he would have all of Sumter County, a small part of Marengo, a portion of Green County and a larger section of Tuscaloosa, including some 4-5,000 residents in the southwestern part of the city of Tuscaloosa.
McCampbell, a Democrat, now represents a district with 71 percent African-American voters, he said. The new plan would lower the number to 57 percent; however, 42 percent of all the voters in the district would be in Tuscaloosa, which is up to 90 percent Republican.
“That’s going to be a concern” for him in the election next year. The district could lose a representative to an urban area.
The city of Demopolis is split in two both in the current district set-up and in the Republican plan. “It’s all about keeping a safe district for Republicans,” he told Rotarians.
Voters also must be aware that they will not be able to cross party lines to vote in the primary and run-off elections, he continued. Even though the state doesn’t require a voter to declare a party affiliation, the legislature has passed a bill prohibiting a voter from choosing one party in the primary and another in the run-off.
In many Alabama counties, the majority of local races are among Democrats, while the state offices are Republican. Voters will have to choose whether to vote for local candidates or state ones in the primary.
McCampbell said he introduced a bill in the last session that would place all candidates on the same primary ballot, saving cash-strapped Alabama the expense of a run-off election.
“It didn’t get anywhere because the Republican Party buried it,” he said.
He plans to reintroduce it again this year but doesn’t hold out much hope.
McCampbell touched briefly on two other topics at the meeting. He said the proposed prison bill “died a real interesting death.”
A federal judge has made a ruling about the mental health issues in Alabama prisons, which the state will have to face. “It’s going to cost a lot of money.”
As for the proposed gas tax, “It died a slow death on the House floor” after passing the Senate, he said. It was “a rugged fight” with special interests lined up to lobby their positions.
The gas tax may come back in the regular session, but it is unlikely to be voted on in an election year when no politician wants to raise taxes.