Carla Atkinson: No demand to redistrict Wake

Regarding the March 6 news article “Wake Dems blast local election bill”: When I heard about the bizarre N.C. Senate bill to change election districts for the Wake County commission and the Greensboro city council, I immediately thought of children. After all, it’s an age-old tactic for kids who get shut down by one parent to slyly approach the other one in hopes of getting the answer they want.

It’s a clever strategy we can laugh about when children are involved. But when we vote in local elections and grownups on the losing end respond by running to their state government pals to ask that they change up the rules to fix the situation or ensure a better outcome next time, it’s not clever – it’s pitiful.

There is no grassroots demand for these changes from voters. As the NCGA inserts itself into local politics more and more, those of us who once believed that our local votes and voices mattered will be holding our collective breath to see how long it takes for the GOP majority to fix any local outcome it doesn’t like.

I hope the House will think carefully about the message these bills send to the people of North Carolina before voting.

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Carla Atkinson: No demand to redistrict Wake."