House Map Proposes More Inclusive Brookhaven District

Proposed changes to state House districts would join all the neighborhoods around Murphey Candler Park with a Brookhaven district that already includes the east side of the Capitol City Country Club, Oglethorpe, and the Peachtree Golf Club.

That would expand the area represented by Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven), who is spearheading the movement to create a city of Brookhaven. 

The new district would also expand across the county line into Fulton, past Ga. 400. That would make Jacobs a part of the Fulton County legislative team, as well as DeKalb's.

"Sandy Springs is a very nice community," Jacobs said after learning about the proposed boundaries Friday. "I look foward to serving the Sandy Springs community."

Those teams make the decisions about bills that focus on the concerns of one city or county, such as drawing Board of Education districts. If the draft map is approved, Jacobs would have a power base in two of metro Atlanta's core counties.

The draft map, released Friday, is a product of the Georgia Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment Office. Once every ten years, Georgia state lawmakers must redraw district borders based on new U.S. Census numbers and population shifts. The Georgia House and Senate committee members in charge of redistricting start hearings on the maps on Tuesday.

The new map would sever Brookhaven from Lenox and the west half of the Capitol City Country Club. Those two areas would be joined to Buckhead, in a district now held by Republican Rep. Ed Lindsay.

In the southern part of Brookhaven, a district that includes Peachtree-DeKalb Airport and Peachtree Industrial Boulevard will remain separate from the greater Brookhaven GOP-held seat. Right now, the area is represented by Rep. Elena Parent (D-Doraville).

However, her district is roughly being merged with one held by Rep.Scott Holcomb (D- Briarcliff). That would force the two incumbents to run against each other if they want to remain in office.

Unfortunately, the proposed House map dramatically changes my district and draws me into a district with my good friend, Rep. Scott Holcomb, who represents the communities of Northlake and Tucker," Parent said in her newsletter this morning. "We represent two of the 20 incumbents on both sides of the aisle who are being drawn into districts with a member of their own political party. I am obviously disappointed to be drawn into competition with a colleague."

For the first time in decades, Republicans control Georgia's government during the redrawing process. Democrats have accused the Republicans of drawing lines in ways designed to unfairly reduce the number of Democratic districts. The GOP has denied the charges of gerrymandering.

On the Senate side, the vast majority of Brookhaven, North Atlanta, Chamblee and Doraville would remain in the seat held by Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody).  Neighborhoods around North Druid Hills Road and on the south side of the lower part of Buford Highway would most likely remain separate and Democratic. The map would include those areas in a district held by Sen. Jason Carter (D-Decatur).

All maps must eventually be approved by the federal government, to make sure they do not disenfranchise minority voters under the Voting Rights Act.

The Legislature will also redraw U.S. House districts this summer. Georgia will get a fourteenth U.S. Congress member. Census numbers put that seat somewhere in the heavily-GOP counties just north of metro Atlanta.

That draft map may appear as early as this week.

In January 2012, the Legislature will take up city, county and board of education districts, as well as the state's utility regulators, the Public Service Commission.