North Carolina’s Senate District 21 was drawn by the General Assembly as a safe Democratic district. In short, it was packed with Democratic voters (especially African Americans) in an attempt to water down their influence in Cumberland County and make neighboring Senate District 19 safe for a Republican. In the 2016 general election, incumbent Ben Clark won District 21 with 71.74% of the vote.
Category Archives: Fayetteville Politics
What’s in a Name? (Senate 19)
Guest Post by Andrew Porter
What’s in a name?
In the information age, election ballots are a vestige of an age gone by. It’s literally a list of names, and you are provided nothing but the name when you vote. You would think with electronic voting devices that you could at least get a hyperlink to more information, but no, the uninformed voter must rely on the cadre of poll workers stumping outside for their candidate. This often an intimidating and obnoxious group (myself an annual member) that many voters pass by without a word.
The informed voter is not exempt from this challenge. Finding information beforehand on down ballot candidates can be daunting. These voters normally rely on newspaper articles or candidate websites that provide little or no information on substantive issues. So what is a voter to do? Pick the best name.
A Preacher on Panhandling
In an Easter Sunday editorial in the Fayetteville Observer, Scott Foster, a former Associate Pastor of Haymount Methodist and current Pastor of St. Andrews Methodist in Fayetteville discusses the city council’s new ordinance that makes giving to panhandlers a crime. It’s worth a read. It may change your perspective on the issue.
See Mr. Foster’s piece here:
http://www.fayobserver.com/opinion/20180331/scott-foster-today-jesus-is-with-beggars
New vs. Old in Senate 19
The boundaries of Senate District 19 have been re-drawn. I will not go deep into the history of the court battle that lead to the changes, but the district was drawn in 2010 to exclude as many African Americans as possible, and the federal courts did not find that constitutionally permissible. Republican Wesley Meredith won the seat in 2010 and has had little trouble beating down the opposition every two years since.
All that may or may not change this year. The lines no longer favor a Republican and make up what FLIPNC calls the third most “flippable” Senate District in North Carolina.
Good luck movin’ up…
….cause I’m movin’ out! – B. Joel
According to the University of North Carolina Population Center (yes, this place really exists), Cumberland County had the state’s highest rate of population loss from 2016 to 2017, losing roughly 1,000 residents.
Cross Creek Divide 