THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702211004
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 38 lines
Third District Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., doesn't think the state Senate's version of new congressional districts will endure.
``Congressman Jones feels there will be changes when the North Carolina House finishes its version of redistricting,'' said Glen Downs, Jones' spokesman in Washington. The final redistricting statute will not come to a vote until both houses of the legislature have worked out their differences.
Jones' district under the Senate's plan would be 75.22 percent white and 22.32 percent black, based on the present population.
The voting-age population breaks down to 76.93 percent white and 20.67 percent black, according to figures released by state Sen. Marc Basnight, D-Dare, president pro tem of the state Senate.
The 1st District, based on total population, would contain 48.77 percent whites and 50.11 percent blacks.
The 1st District is one of two Congressional enclaves created by the North Carolina General Assembly after the 1990 census in an effort to make it easier to send minority candidates to Congress.
Rep. Eva M. Clayton of Warren County is now in her second term after becoming the state's first black congresswoman in this century. She could not be reached for comment.
In the 12th District, between Durham and Charlotte, U.S. Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte became the second black congressman from North Carolina.
A proposed new 12th District would contain 51.26 percent whites and 47.09 percent blacks, based on total population. Among registered voters, 54.35 percent are white and 45.40 percent are black.
Back voters are expected to oppose the redistricting. The existing 1st and 12th districts were designed to encourage the election of minority candidates. The proposed districts carry no such assurances.
KEYWORDS: REDISTRICTING CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS