An opportunity to protect local interests

By Staff
Oct. 14, 2001
Rep. Charles Young and Sen. Terry Burton have a tremendous opportunity to protect east Mississippi's legitimate interests in the current debate over congressional redistricting.
When they met with other members of a special legislative committee dealing with this politically sensitive subject, it was encouraging to note that Burton voted to keep Lauderdale County intact and against placing it in a coastal district. Young, on the other hand, cast preliminary votes for proposals that would have split Lauderdale County and that clearly is not in this area's longterm interests.
The entire process of congressional redistricting will hinge on a statistic from the 2000 Census called black voting age population, or BVAP. For incumbent U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who is virtually assured of reelection in his Delta district, the percentage is nearly 70 percent. The coastal district's black voting age population will probably end up being about 20 percent.
The real fight is over the black voting age population in the other two districts. Proposed BVAP of about 40 percent would favor U.S. Rep. Ronnie Shows, a Democrat. BVAP of about 34 percent would at least give U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, a Republican, a fighting chance to beat Shows if the two end up running against each other.
Young particularly is in a pivotal leadership role. It might be a good time for his constituents to remind him they want Lauderdale County to remain intact and in a central congressional district with other counties of common interests.