Lynn Edmonds: GOP changes the rules

Regarding the March 6 news article “Wake Dems blast local election bill”: Sen. Chad Barefoot is changing the rules and redrawing the Wake commissioner board district maps for no other reason than to try and manipulate a win for GOP candidates.

When the voters of Wake County rejected the obstructionist rule of the Republican county majority last fall, Barefoot didn’t need to look far for a fix. Former Sen. Neal Hunt already had the playbook ready for him. In 2013, Hunt sponsored Senate Bill 325 to redraw the districts of the Wake County school board, which Democrats had gained control of in 2011.

Wake residents did not ask for that bill, and an amendment to include a referendum on those changes was defeated.

Again, Wake voters are being completely disregarded and cheated by GOP state officials who refuse to accept the results of an election they don’t like. When they find they can’t win on their agenda and policies, Barefoot and his supporters choose desperate, unethical political tactics over democracy.

This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Lynn Edmonds: GOP changes the rules."