Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson has asked Gov. Brian Kemp to veto a redrawn commission map that Thursday passed the General Assembly.
In a statement, Hendrickson urged state legislators to instead send Kemp the map that the commission last month approved unanimously.
“From the very beginning of this process, the Board of Commissioners has remained resolute in our commitment to produce a map through an open and transparent process,” Hendrickson said. “We continue to stand by the commission district map that took into account weeks of public outreach.”
County commission maps are being redrawn by law based on the latest census results. The maps will remain in effect until 2030.
The county commission proposed a map that would minimally change current district lines. It would not split any voting precincts or cities with the exception of an area where Buford and Sugar Hill intermingle.
“Our proposed map does an excellent job of evenly dividing the county into four compact districts that reflect the overall diversity of Gwinnett County,” Hendrickson said.
The commission contains four members elected from geographic districts and the chairperson, who is elected at large. In the past four years, the board has flipped from fully Republican to fully Democratic. All the commissioners are now people of color.
The Republican-dominated Legislature overrode the mostly Democratic delegation from Gwinnett to pass a different map that would create a northern, more conservative district. That was a departure from the normal procedure for redistricting, in which the Legislature typically defers to the local delegation.
The northern district would be 48% white, according to a county analysis, but some claim the voting-age population would be majority white. Gwinnett County is 35% white.
The Republicans’ map would split Suwanee in two and Lawrenceville into three districts.
About the Author
