(1) The Senate map; (2) a bit or two about the state Senate map; & (3) some of the Dean's thoughts on redistricting.

The Senate proposal can be found at:

The Senate map- State

The Senate map - Metro
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Excerpts from a 2-16-05 ajc article by Tom Baxter and Sonyi Jacobs:

GOP's remaps conflict
House, Senate leaders unveil redistricting proposals

Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) acknowledged that legislators were influenced by the state's Republican congressmen, who have pushed for a new map.

The map unveiled by Senate leaders would move newly elected Democratic U.S. Rep. John Barrow's home county of Clarke into the 9th District, now represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood of suburban Augusta. The east Georgia home of former U.S. Rep. Max Burns, who lost his seat to Barrow last year, is in the adjacent 12th District, which would be left without an incumbent.

A second map, proposed by Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta), chairman of the House Reapportionment Committee, would throw GOP U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County into a district with Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon. It would keep Barrow and Norwood in separate districts, while creating a district without an incumbent.

"This is the map we're going with," said Michelle Hitt, spokeswoman for House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram).

Reconciling the contradictory maps — as well as the desires of the GOP U.S. House members — could become one of the major activities for the rest of this legislative session, which reaches its midpoint Thursday.

A new map would be subject to U.S. Justice Department review for compliance with the Voting Rights Act. A court threw out the legislative maps drawn by Democrats in 2001, saying they violated the one-man, one-vote principle. Although the court ruled the congressional map didn't have the same problems, Johnson said it "commented on several occasions about the bizarre districts found in the map."
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And this week Bill Shipp had the following to say about redistricting (excerpts):

That Georgia has unfair congressional district maps is a given. That the courts have approved those districts is also true. So is the assertion that, no matter what happens, the Georgia legislature must prepare for a brand-new round of mandated redistricting in barely five years.

Several state [GOP] politicians see new career opportunities in new maps.

Perdue made a solemn campaign promise (just like the one about the flag) to undo the Democrats' congressional map . . . .

The main problem with reopening the redistricting door is this: A dozen personal agendas will suddenly take center stage in the legislature. All eyes and ears will be fixed on redistricting. Nothing else will seem to matter.

The Machiavellian maneuvering has already begun. For example:

• On the Georgia coast, friends of state Senate GOP chief Eric Johnson are shaping a new district to give Savannah-area Republicans a shot at adding an additional GOP member (Johnson) to the Georgia delegation. To help Sen. Johnson, however, the legislature would have to chop up incumbent Democrat John Barrow's present district.

• Allies of former state GOP Sen. Mike Crotts are floating a map that would tear up Rep. David Scott's 50 percent black, 100 percent "safe" Democratic district. The Crotts map also cuts heavily into the districts of Democratic congressmen Barrow and Jim Marshall. A similarly reconfigured district also might encourage ex-Rep. Mac Collins to try to return to the House and skip an opportunity to take on Gov. Perdue in the Republican gubernatorial primary. Collins, you may remember, dropped out of Congress to run unsuccessfully for the Senate.

To neophyte lawmakers, these wonderful new charts sound like a sure way to give Republicans more muscle and further weaken Democrats.

More seasoned hands know better. "Politicians are like toothpaste. Squeeze them out of their districts, and they can really make a mess," says one old-timer recalling that Democrats tried to squeeze Rep. Saxby Chambliss out of his middle Georgia House seat. The result: Chambliss is now a U.S. senator and chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Taking a whack at Democrat Marshall's congressional base might have similar unpleasant consequences for the GOP. In the last election, Marshall won half the white votes and the support of then-Sen. Zell Miller, and he polled better than President George W. Bush.

Some high-profile Republican wannabes - Sen. Casey Cagle, GOP guru Ralph Reed and Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine - might not welcome a freshly squeezed Democratic Congressman Jim Marshall into a general election for lieutenant governor - and certainly not if he enters the mix after a bloody GOP primary.

As Republicans take up redistricting to add "fairness" and strength to their position, perhaps they should remember the adage about the worth of a bird in the hand.