John Wayne of Carolina Strategic Analysis address the possibility over at Politics North Carolina. A highlight:
After redistricting legislation affecting North Carolina’s third and second largest counties, could similar bills be in store for Mecklenburg? Already, Republican Commissioner Bill James has floated the notion of changing the makeup of the Mecklenburg Board of Commissioners, shrinking the size of the board from nine to seven and reducing the number of at-large commission seats from three to one. James says it would have the effect of making elections for chair less chaotic.
James’ idea in itself wouldn’t be too controversial. The last election for chair was a messy affair and resulted in Democrat Trevor Fuller being named for the position, despite the lead vote-getter being Democrat Pat Cotham. Under James’ proposal, the one at-large member would automatically become chair, which would certainly do a lot to make elections for chairpersons less contentious. And because Mecklenburg is so Democratic, the at-large vote would be decisive and ensure Democratic control of the Board, no matter how the lines in the other districts are drawn.
The General Assembly might do him one better, though, creating redistricting legislation very similar to the kind they intend to carry out in Wake County, reducing the number of at-large districts from three to two, and having these members elected from “super districts” – one for metro Charlotte, and the other consisting of the suburban areas of the county.
You can read the rest of Wayne’s blog post here.
