Legislature begins working on redistricting

State News

August 18, 2010

Associated Press Associated Press Wed Aug 18, 2010, 09:13 AM CDT

JACKSON — Fast-growing and relatively affluent suburbs could gain representation in the Mississippi Legislature, while economically struggling areas with shrinking populations could lose some seats.

That’s how things are shaping up as state lawmakers prepare for redistricting in 2011.

Officials in the fastest-growing county in the state, DeSoto, say they anticipate picking up at least one additional seat in the 122-member House and one more in the 52-member Senate. DeSoto now has all or part of six House districts and two entire Senate districts.

“One person, one vote — for that to work, we need more representation,” Hernando’s Republican mayor, Chip Johnson, said in a phone interview Monday.

DeSoto County is in the northwestern corner of Mississippi, just south of Memphis, Tenn. The county had a population of 107,199 in 2000, and the Census Bureau estimated the population at 158,719 in 2009. The increase of 51,520 means DeSoto County added more residents than most of the 81 counties even have.

“People are going to go where the jobs are,” Johnson said.

Among the areas that could lose seats in redistricting is Washington County, which saw its population drop from 62,977 in 2000 to estimated 54,616 in 2009. That’s a decrease of 8,361.

Betty Lynn Cameron, director of the Main Street economic development program in Greenville, said she’s concerned about the impoverished Delta losing representation at the state Capitol.

“It’s a sad fact of life that we have lost population,” Cameron said Monday. “There are a number of reasons for that. Jobs have a lot to do with that. We have not picked up in our economic development swing yet like I hope we will in the future.”

Coastal Harrison County, which was pummeled by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, had the largest population drop. Census figures show Harrison County went from 189,601 residents in 2000 to an estimated 181,191 in 2009. That’s a drop of 8,410. Some people are still rebuilding, and it’s unclear whether the county will see an increase when the final 2010 figures are released; lawmakers expect to receive the numbers in February.

Top members of the Mississippi House and Senate are holding a series of public hearings the next few weeks to gather ideas about how to configure legislative district lines.

Lawmakers will use the 2010 Census numbers to try to draw districts roughly balanced by population, but the head count won’t be the only consideration. Districts are supposed to be relatively compact and to represent “communities of interest,” said Rep. Tommy Reynolds, D-Charleston, who chairs the House redistricting committee.

The U.S. Justice Department also will check the Mississippi redistricting plan to ensure that it doesn’t dilute minorities’ voting strength. That will be a challenge, since many of shrinking or stagnant counties also have high percentages of black residents.

Reynolds said Monday that while some counties will move into different House or Senate districts, the new configurations will still ensure everyone in the state has a voice.

“I don’t think we need to be like Chicken Little and say, ’The sky is falling,”’ Reynolds said.

Republican Terry Burton of Newton, who chairs the Senate redistricting committee, said lawmakers will try to minimize the number of split precincts where some residents vote on one legislative district while their neighbors vote in another at the same location.

“It’s confusing to the voters and it’s a headache to the circuit clerks and the election commissioners and everyone involved,” Burton said.

All legislative seats are up for election in 2011. Candidates’ qualifying deadline is next June, with the general election in November.

Text Only

State News

MHP on patrol for holiday
Even though there has been a remarkable reduction in the number of fatalities in Mississippi over the past seven years, last year’s Memorial Day Weekend was particularly deadly.

May 26, 2012
Forecasters: 9 to 15 storms this hurricane season
U.S. forecasters predicted Thursday that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season would produce a normal number of about nine to 15 tropical storms.
As many as four to eight of those storms could strengthen into hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s initial outlook for the six-month storm season that officially begins June 1. One to three of those could become major hurricanes with top winds of 111 mph or higher.

May 25, 2012
Miss. court sets execution dates for 2 of 3 men
Mississippi will not execute three men on three consecutive days in June, after the state Supreme Court set execution dates a week apart for two men and declined to set a date for a third.

May 25, 2012
New, old law makers tout legislative successes
Four state law makers held a legislative review for members of the Greater Picayune Area Chamber of Commerce at the newly opened Southern Char restaurant Tuesday night to share with business owners information about new bills and laws that have been passed.

May 24, 2012 1 Photo
Prosecutors: Delay sentencing in hate crime case
Federal prosecutors want to delay the sentencing of three white men who pleaded guilty to hate crime charges stemming from a months-long pattern of harassing blacks that culminated in the fatal rundown of James Craig Anderson.

May 24, 2012
Bryant signs laws affecting students and veterans
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill Wednesday that requires kindergarteners or first-graders to be tested for dyslexia, a reading disorder that can sometimes go undiagnosed for years and leave children struggling to learn.

May 24, 2012
Losing bidder sues over revised bid at state port
A contract dispute has put on hold elevation work at the state port in Gulfport.
The port’s West Pier is being expanded, elevated and updated to house a modern containerized cargo operation. When completed, the pier will include 180 acres elevated for storm-surge protection by 15 feet, to 25 feet above sea level.

May 23, 2012
Mom of man in sisters abduction gets new charge
Prosecutors have increased the severity of charges against the mother of a man who abducted two young Tennessee girls after he killed their mother and oldest sister.

May 23, 2012
Sheriff: Gang started prison riot in Mississippi
A gang fight in a prison for illegal immigrants quickly escalated into a riot involving as many as 300 inmates, some lashing out with sticks or homemade knives as the uprising spread through the sprawling prison, a sheriff said.

May 22, 2012
Miss. voter ID bill signed, awaits feds’ scrutiny
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday signed a bill requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, but it’s unclear whether it will become law.

May 18, 2012
More State News Headlines

State News

Search Results

Legislature begins working on redistricting

Site Map

Contact Us