New bill shackles black voters into 2 wards BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE If N.C. House Repre sentatives Donny Lambeth and Debra Conrad have their way, some drastic changes could be on the horizon for the Winston- Salem City Council and the citizens of the Twin City. Last week Lambeth and Conrad filed a bill that would move three of the eight council seats to at-large districts, give the mayor the right to vote in city council matters, and change the way the council fills vacancies. In a press release is sued on Friday, March 29, the state lawmakers say House Bill 519 will “bring city elections more in line with other municipalities across the state.” Currently the Winston- Salem City Council op erates with eight council members who are elected by ward and only the may or is elected at large. In the larger cities across the state, including Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro and Durham, the mayor and at least two council members are elected at large. The press release from Lambeth’s office reads, “It is fairly typical in the larger North Carolina mu nicipalities for City Coun cil elections to be a com bination of at-large seats As news of the pro posed bill began to make headlines, council member Besse took to Facebook to voice his frustration with House Bill 519 and anoth er bill that would change the terms for Winston- Salem/Forsyth County School Board. Besse, who ran against Lambeth in the 2018 Gen eral Election for his seat on the House of Repre sentatives, said instead of focusing on the real issues, Lambeth and Conrad are “playing political games.” He wrote, “... Instead of working to protect the lives of over 10,000 For syth County citizens who lack health care, these legislators have chosen to spend their time playing partisan political games with two local elected boards.” Besse continued, “They may offer excuses for why they have chosen to launch these partisan at tacks now, but there is no conceivable justification for doing so without public debate or consultation. In the case ofWinston-Salem, they have even included in their bill a pre-drawn ger rymandered map of the new council districts. “If anyone believes these bills are not motivat ed by raw partisan power politics, I’d like to offer you an excellent bat gain ffe re j s a proposed map of what the redrawn wards would look like if Bill 519 is passed. The bill was endorsed by Fl 11 ^ swam P ant 111 N.C. House Representatives Donny Lambeth and Debra Conrad. and district seats e.g., Charlotte, Cary, Durham, Greenville, Greensboro, High Point, Raleigh and Wilmington. “... HB 519 is the first major reform in several years of the city elections process and brings the City of Winston-Salem’s Coun cil elections in-line with other large municipali ties.” If Bill 519 is passed, the eight wards that we all know (North, South, East, West, Northwest, North east, Southwest and South- east) will become wards numbered one through five. Citizens will vote for a representative in their ward and three at-large candidates, as well as the Bill 519 could also be bad news for the only women on the city coun cil. On the redrawn map, Ward 2 combines what we currently know as the of the city. If the bill is ap proved as is, Ward 2 will be nearly 65 percent black and less than 20 percent white, which is shock ing considering African- removal of Bill 519. Presi dent of the local NAACP Rev. Alvin Carlisle said they will not stand idly by while thousands of vot ers are silenced. He said, can communities. The Winston-Salem NACCP, will not stand idly by while the voice of the people is silenced.” geted three black women on the city council and drastically diminished the voice of the black elec torate, state and national leaders immediately began w c^^ w© ^ mayor. While it may seem to give the voters more pow er on who’s making the decisions around the city, a map of the proposed wards released last week raised serious questions -from residents and members of the city council about the motive behind HB 519. The map of the redrawn wards shows only Council members Jeff Macintosh (Ward 1), John Larson (Ward 4) and James Tay lor (Ward 3) in wards by themselves. Council mem bers Robert Clark and Dan Besse are both drawn in Ward 5. * * * CO 00 * 2 M (Z) CO East, North, and Northeast Wards, which are repre sented by Annette Scippio, Denise “D.D.” Adams, and Mayor Tempore Vivian Burke, all who just happen to be black. When looking at the numbers, Ward 2 doesn’t reflect the racial make-up Americans only make up about. 34 percent of the total population, according to a recent U.S. Census. In response to the re drawn districts the Win ston-Salem Chapter of the NAACP and the Winston- Salem Urban League have called for the immediate w ^ a 2 M ^ We Rent U-Haul Trucks! 8 SELF STORAGE ^ Professional self-storage. Mw \NcU/ m-s an cwt MO GUIE “This piece of legislation is typical of the kind of wrangling that we have come to expect of this ex tremist controlled legisla ture. “They consistently seek to garner unearned power by circumventing the will of African Ameri ¬ President and CEO of the Winston-Salem Urban League James Perry said, “Reps Conrad and Lam beth have put forth a bill that could have the same chilling effect on Win ston-Salem that HB2 had on North Carolina. Upon learning that HB 519 tar- ASSURED STORAGE of Winston-Salem, LLC contacting me with talk of a Winston-Salem boycott.” Attempts to reach Rep. Lambeth and Rep. Conrad were unsuccessful at the time of publication. If Bill 519 is approved, it will go into effect in 2020. (336) 924-7000 www.assuredstoragews.com Office Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm: Sat 9am-3pm Gate Hours: 5am-10pm 4191 Bethania Station Road • Winston-Salem

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