Two leading Georgia Democrats who spoke in Statesboro over the weekend doubt that the Republican-led reapportionment process can end without a court battle.
    Rep. Stacey Abrams, minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, and Mike Berlon, chairperson of the Democratic Party of Georgia, spoke at the Bulloch County Democratic Party’s Independence Gala. Saturday evening’s event at the Holiday Inn served as a fundraiser and party pep rally before the 2012 election season.
    The remarks over dinner were mainly rallying cries for the faithful. But when interviewed during the reception, Abrams and Berlon identified redistricting as Georgia Democrats’ most immediate concern.
    “The biggest thing for us right now is reapportionment,” Berlon said. “We’re only a month away from the special session and we haven’t seen a single map from the Republicans. And for us it’s a little bit frustrating because we don’t have any representation at all on the inside on drawing those maps.”
    Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to call the Legislature back into session, convening Aug. 15, to approve new maps for state House and Senate districts, as well as for Georgia’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Districts must be adjusted to roughly equal populations using data from the 2010 Census, which affords Georgia an additional seat in Congress.
   
New maps
    The need for the new 14th District means that Georgia must have a congressional map in place somehow prior to the 2012 elections. But past congressional maps have been redrawn under court orders, and Berlon said there’s a very good chance that the old state legislative maps will still be in use for the 2012 elections while the new ones are held up by litigation.
    If the maps that emerge from the Legislature are challenged, the state Democratic Party expects to take a direct role in the lawsuit.
    “It’s unfortunate, but we’re already planning to be ready for that when it comes up,” said Berlon, a lawyer. Then he added, “Maybe they will surprise us and the maps will be really reasonable.”
    In February, Democrats objected when the Republican-controlled Legislature transferred the handling of reapportionment data from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia to a separate Legislative Reapportionment Services Office. While Republicans defended the office as nonpartisan, Democrats noted that it would be advised by a Republican attorney.
    Since then, Berlon said, Republicans have kept Democrats out of the process. While the House and Senate Reapportionment Committees have held hearings around the state, they have yet to unveil their proposed maps.
    “I think at the last minute when they unveil these maps that we’re going to have some great difficulty with them,” Berlon said. “And it is frustrating. The Republicans don’t even seem to be trying to be nonpartisan about this. They could have at least given us the illusion that we’ve got some input, but they’re not even doing that.”
   
Maps posted
    Republican committee leaders, Rep. Roger Lane and Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, said recently that the maps would be posted on the Internet prior to the special session. Abrams said she is encouraged and expects to see the maps the last week of July or the first week of August.
    “We’re pleased that the Republicans have agreed to show the maps ahead of time,” she said. “That’s an important step forward, we think. ... I think it’s important for us to meet the federal guidelines of fairness, transparency and equity, and transparency means giving the public a real opportunity to comment on those maps before we vote on them.”
    Democrats plan to hold “rural hearings” July 21-30 to address concerns that the Reapportionment Committees’ hearings were held in metropolitan areas.
    Abrams takes the Republicans at their word and believes “the best good-faith effort that we can show to the public is that we recognize reapportionment isn’t about politicians,” she said. “It’s about the representation of these communities.”
    However, she expects the special session to be difficult and will not be surprised if the process winds up in court.
    “I would be pleased if it can be resolved during the session,” Abrams said. “If we meet the standards and if we abide by what the public has asked for and the law requires, I would be pleased to see that. But, you know, you hope for the best and plan for the worst, and so we are prepared to continue the conversation, if we have to, in the court of law.”
    Abrams, an Atlanta attorney, has represented District 84 since January 2007. After the 2010 elections she was chosen by fellow Democrats as House minority leader, becoming the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and the first African American to serve as a party leader in the House. A graduate of Yale Law School, she also holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas.
   
Promoting the party
    About 120 Democrats, including some from Screven, Jenkins and Effingham counties and the Augusta area, as well Bulloch, paid $50 each for Saturday’s dinner, with proceeds going to the local party’s war chest. It was a first-time affair, but Elizabeth Johnson, the party’s 12th Congressional District chairperson, said organizers hope to make it an annual one.
    As keynote speaker, Abrams called on Democrats to promote their party as the party of economic security, education and shared responsibility as they strive to regain seats in the Legislature. Currently, the caucus Abrams leads consists of 63 Democrats in the House, where there are 116 Republican members and one Independent.
    In his remarks, Berlon said he has talked with national Democratic leaders who believe that Georgia will be “in play” in 2012 as a battleground state for President Barack Obama’s re-election bid.
    The local party also inaugurated four new awards named for local people. They presented the George Jackson Public Servant Award to Theresa Jackson in memory of her late husband and gave the Pat Gillis Democratic Champion Award, the Charlie Lewis Democratic Pioneer Award and the Joe Bill Brannon Civil Servant Award to their namesakes. Plans are to present awards named for these first honorees to other individuals in coming years.