Kemp declines special Georgia session on redistricting and executive powers
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Facts
- Gov. Brian Kemp said he will not call a special session on redistricting changes.
- Kemp also rejected a special session to curtail executive-branch powers.
- Kemp is a Republican leaving office because of term limits.
- Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s gubernatorial election against Republican Rick Jackson.
- Bottoms is set to succeed Kemp as Georgia’s governor.
- Kemp said budget issues could still require lawmakers to act before January.
Context
What did Kemp rule out?
Kemp said he would not summon the Georgia General Assembly for a special session to debate redistricting changes or curtail executive-branch powers. NYT CBS News POLITICO
Where Left and Right agree
Left and right largely agree on this one.
- What both sides accept
- Both agree Kemp was right to reject a special session on redistricting and on curbing executive power before Bottoms takes office.
- Where Left and Right differ in emphasis
- The left and the right agree Kemp was right to skip a special session, but not why.
How left and right read it
When maps get redrawn right before power changes hands, the people who lose representation rarely have lobbyists in the room. That is why Kemp's refusal to call a special session on redistricting matters, and his refusal to strip executive-branch powers before Bottoms takes office matters too: Bottoms won, so she should govern with the authority voters gave her.
“A Supreme Court decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act has prompted Republican lawmakers across the South to redraw federal and state legislative boundaries to benefit their party, eliminating districts that had been created to promote minority representation.” — The New York Times
The powers of an office should not be rewritten the moment the occupant is about to change party, because rules bent on the way out are rules no one can rely on later. Keep the only pre-January business the budget work he says lawmakers may still face.
Kemp's refusal keeps the transfer boring on purpose — Bottoms inherits the same authority Kemp had, no last-minute rewrites.
The receipts — 100 sources
Wire services (2)
Independent coverage (98)
The news, read by both sides.
The day’s biggest stories in one short brief, built to show both sides and the competing values behind the headlines. Free in your inbox.