C5
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2014
VOLUME 93 - NUMBER 13
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GOP has a built-in advantage
By Stephen Ohlemacher
WASHINGTON (AP) - Even
fDemocrats recruit great candi
dates, raise gobs of money and
run smart campaigns, they face
an uphill fight to retake control
of the House in this year’s con-
iressional elections, regardless
ofthe political climate in No
vember.
The reason? Republican strat
egists spent years developing
apian to take advantage of the
2010 census, first by winning
ey state legislatures and then
redrawing House districts to tilt
the playing field in their favor.
In states like Ohio, Michigan
and North Carolina, Republicans
were able to shape congressional
maps to pack as many Demo
cratic voters as possible into the
fewest House districts. The pro
cess, called gerrymandering, left
fertile ground elsewhere in each
state to spread Republican voters
among more districts, increasing
he GOP’s chances of winning
more seats.
Geography helped, too, in
some states. Democratic voters
in fight for US House
changes. Some states gain seats and others lose, so the overall total remains 435. In most states, the leg
islature and the governor draw up the new districts, which is why political parties pay special attention to
elections at the start of each decade.
“I think Democrats made a terrible mistake. They did not put nearly enough attention or resources into
legislative races at the state level,” said Matt Bennett, a former aide to President Bill Clinton. “A bunch
of these legislatures slipped by very narrow margins, and some of them flipped for the first time since
Reconstruction in the South.”
For Republicans, it was a combination of luck and planning. The political winds were in their favor,
but they also had been plotting for years to take full advantage of redistricting.
REDMAP, which stands for Redistricting Majority Project, called for targeting races in states that
were expected to gain or lose congressional seats. GOP strategists reasoned that redistricting could have
a greater impact in these states because there would have to be more changes to district boundaries, said
Chris Jankowski, former president of the Republican State Leadership Committee.
are more likely to live in densely
populated urban areas, making
if easier to pack them into fewer
districts.
The first payoff came in 2012,
len Republicans kept control
ofthe House despite Democrat
ic support that swept President
Barack Obama to a second term.
The next payoff is likely to come
this fall.
Gerrymandering has a long
history in the United States, pur
sued enthusiastically by both
Democrats and Republicans.
But the GOP’s success at it this
decade has been historic: In
2012, Republicans achieved a
33-seat majority in the House,
even though GOP candidates as
a group got 1.4 million fewer
votes than their Democratic op
ponents.
It was only the second time
since World War II that the party
receiving the most votes failed
to win a majority of House seats,
President Barack Obama bids farewell to Pope Francis following an audience
at the Vatican, March 27. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
DR. WILLIAM BROWN
Dr. William Brown Has A
New Distinguished
Professorship in Economics
At FSU in His Honor
according to statistics compiled
by the House Clerk. Democrats
gained eight seats but were still
a minority.
“The fact that Republicans
controlled redistricting (after
2010) meant that they were able
to build up a wall, stopping a lot
of the tide from running out,”
said Justin Levitt, a law profes
sor and redistricting expert at
Loyola Law School in Los An
geles. “They were able to shore
upa lot of the districts that had
been won by, in many cases, tea
party freshmen or other Republi
can freshmen.”
The Republicans’ advantage
will fade as the decade wears
on and the population changes.
In the meantime, Democrats
control the White House and
the Senate, while Republicans
control the House, giving the
GOP powerful leverage to block
Obama’s second-term agenda.
How did Republicans gain
their advantage? It all started
with the party’s sweeping vic
tories in 2010 and a plan called
REDMAP.
The 2010 election was a di
saster for Democrats. Repub
licans picked up 63 seats to
win control of the House. They
also gained seats in the Senate,
though Democrats kept a major
ity.
' Perhaps more important, Re
publicans won control of state
legislatures in crucial states, giv-
’ng the party the edge that is still
Paying dividends.
Every 10 years following the
national census, states redraw
the boundaries of House districts
to account for population
James Sansom Named Interim M&F
Bank President, Saunders Steps Down
Kim Saunders to remain as President and CEO ofthe parent company
M&F Bancorp, Inc., announced that Kim D. Saunders has resigned as the president and CEO of M&F
Bank effective as ofthe close of business on March 18. Saunders will continue to serve as President and
CEO of our parent company M&F Bancorp, Inc. for the immediate future. She will provide leadership
and guidance toward helping the Board achieve key long-term strategic goals for the Company, which
includes developing its capital-raising potential, sustaining its community, regulatory and governmental
relationships and exploring expansion of its CDFI capabilities. She also will assist in ensuring a smooth
transition process for her ultimate successor. As designated in the Bank’s Succession Plan, Mr. James
E. Sansom will serve as Interim President until a search committee can identify a new Chief Executive.
“We appreciate and thank Kim for her leadership through some ofthe most difficult and complicated
situations that this institution has faced,” said Board Chair James A. Stewart. “She’s been instrumental
in sustaining our profitability through the recent recessionary period, and guiding us through our first
acquisition and non-organic capital infusion in the last several decades. Although she will be stepping
down from control of day-to-day operations, Ms. Saunders will continue to support us in very important
ways during this transition. We believe that the Bank is poised to step onto a much bigger platform, and
to operate more aggressively and competitively than before.”
“Serving as M&F Bank’s President and CEO has been extremely rewarding for me. I look forward
to focusing my efforts on key initiatives that will position the Company for its future,” said Saunders.
Speaking on behalf of the Board and management team, Stewart expressed confidence that the Bank
will meet its current objectives and that current projects will be completed according to plan. “This
institution has operated in a stable and profitable manner for more than 106 years, surviving and thriving
regardless of the circumstances. Our shareholders and customers know we will carefully manage this
transition and continue to move forward, as we have always done.”
GOP districts isolated from demographic changes
By Stephen Ohlemacher
WASHINGTON (AP) - Some demographers call it the browning of America. Fueled by immigration
and higher birth rates among Hispanics and blacks, the U.S. population is becoming less white.
These changes, however, have largely bypassed congressional districts represented by Republicans,
adding to divisions between the GOP and Democrats on issues like immigration.
National GOP leaders have been urging Republicans in Congress to reach out to Hispanic voters on
immigration, well aware that Hispanics are the nation’s fastest-growing group.
Those calls have fallen flat among many House Republicans, who have been unwilling to advance
legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants who are
in the U.S. illegally.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress have made immigration overhaul a
priority.
Demography helps explain the divide.
Following the 2010 Census, Republican legislators in key states redrew congressional districts in ways
that favored their candidates.
By AP and Wire Reports
Fayetteville State University has named a new Distin
guished Professorship in Economics for retired Fayetteville
educator William T. Brown.
Brown has served on the FSU Board of Trustees and the
University of North Carolina Board of Governors.
Brown, 85, is currently trustee emeritus at FSU. W.T. Brown
Elementary in Spring Lake is named for him.
In a press release, FSU Chancellor James A. Anderson said
Brown “is an ideal candidate for the honor because of his dedi
cation to the university, the community and the state of North
Carolina.”
“Dr. Brown is one of the most revered individuals in educa
tion on the local and state levels,” Anderson said.
Of the honor Brown said “It’s wonderful,” he said. “I feel
blessed.”
The professorship was made possible by a gift of $500,000,
according to FSU. Half of the gift came from the C.D. Span
gler Foundation Inc. and half from a matching state grant.
FSU said the purpose ofthe endowed chair is to attract a dis
tinguished professor who is a renowned scholar and who will
play a critical role in developing an economics program that is
academically sound and nationally visible.
Assad Tavakoli, dean of FSU’s School of Business and
Economics, said the school is being reorganized to provide an
increased emphasis and focus on entrepreneurship, even as it
continues to offer traditional business degrees and training. He
said the school hopes one day to offer a doctorate program in
entrepreneurship.
He said the professor who’s recruited to the new Brown
chair will help the school in these areas, along with two pro
fessors now in endowed chairs at the school. Tavakoli said he
expects to start recruiting for the job in the fall.
Brown began his career teaching chemistry and physics and
later served in administrative positions in the public schools.
He said economics is a good fit, given the number of budgets
he worked on as a school administrator and as a member of
various boards.
“I’ve done some of all of it,” he said.
Brown, a native of Durham, earned his bachelor’s degree
from North Carolina Central University and a master’s degree
from Columbia University. He also holds honorary doctorate
degrees from FSU and Shaw University.
He taught in Summerville, S.C., before moving to E.E.
Smith High School in Fayetteville, where he later became an
assistant principal. He was principal at Ferguson-Easley El
ementary School, Washington Drive Junior High School, and
E.E. Smith. He became an assistant superintendent, then an as
sociate superintendent for the Fayetteville City Schools. When
the city’s school system merged with the Cumberland County
school system in 1985, he again served as associate superinten
dent until his retirement in 1992.
In 1993, the Cumberland County Board of Education named
its first year-round school in his honor.
Brown also served as assistant to the chancellor for outreach
at FSU. Meanwhile, besides the FSU trustee board and UNC
Board of Governors, Brown served on numerous other local
boards over the years. In the 1970s, he was chairman of the
Cape Fear Valley Medical Center board of trustees.
Brown’s finily has a history of education accomplishment.
His brother, Dr. Walter M. Brown, Durham, whose P.h. D. in
education from North Carolina College in 1955 marked the
first time in the United States a P.h.D. was conferred by a His
torically Black College or University.