RICHMOND —
Madison County’s legislative district boundaries changed when Gov. Steve Beshear signed into law House Bill 1 Friday. The county is now part of four districts in the House of Representatives instead of three.
Redistricting is required every 10 years after each U.S. Census.
Before passage of the bill, Madison County was represented by Rep. Donna Mayfield, R-Winchester, Rep. Rita Smart, D-Richmond, and Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster.
In addition to Smart in the 81st District, Madison County’s new legislative delegation includes Rep. Danny Ford, R-Mt. Vernon, of the 80th District; Rep. Bill Farmer R-Lexington, 88th District and Rep. Teddy Edmonds, D-Jackson, 91st District.
Under both the old and new plans, Smart’s district is the only one entirely within Madison County.
Sen. Jared Carpenter, R-Berea, will continue to represent Madison and Rockcastle counties in the Senate, but he will also represent Estill instead of Lincoln County.
He and Smart both voted for the bill which passed their respective chambers in mostly party-line votes.
Smart said she felt obligated to vote for the plan after successfully lobbying to get Madison County the larger share of the 88th District, which kept the county from being divided among five districts.
Carpenter said he had observed how arduous a task redrawing district lines had been.
“I think the people who drew the lines did the best they could,” he said. “I saw the lines being drawn. I saw how big of a process it was for over a year.”
Controversy about the issue continues, but Smart said there are some positive potentials for Madison County in the plan.
Ford will be retiring at the end of this legislative session, leaving open the 80th District seat. This gives someone from Madison County a chance to seek the office, Smart said.
The home of Tiffany Nash, Smart’s Republican opponent in the 2010 election now lies in the 80th District. It runs down the west side of Madison County, includes all of Rockcastle County, then snakes along the northwest border of Pulaski County to take in all of Casey County.
The 88th District covers a small portion of southern Fayette County, all of northeastern Madison County and then a band running south to the county line east of Berea.
“I see some opportunities for us there,” Smart said. “District 88 presents an opportunity to expand Madison County’s representation. The majority of that district is in Madison County.”
The 91st District includes the southeast corner of Madison County, then runs east to include all of Estill, Lee, Owsley and Breathitt counties.
The deadline to file for open House and Senate seats is Jan. 31. Carpenter’s term does not expire until 2014.
As a first-time state representative, Smart said she was warned by weathered politicians that redistricting can be a trying time.
“I had people tell me that when redistricting comes, you’ll see grown men cry,” she said.
Under the new plan, some members will have to run against other incumbents to remain in the legislature.
Both Smart and Carpenter said they were unhappy that redistricting moved Madison County out of Napier’s distinct.
“I hate to lose Rep. Lonnie Napier,” Smart said. “He’s been a strong advocate of Madison County and he’s assured me he will continue to work with me.”
Madison County has been fortunate to have been represented by Napier for so many years, Carpenter said.
“Lonnie Napier has represented Madison County for 20-plus years,” he said. “He’s been good for our community, and we’ve been fortunate to have him. But, at the end of the day, we have two people who live in Madison County — myself in the Senate and Rita in the House. We now have the potential for more people in Madison County to file if they want to run.”
Carpenter said he understood the controversy caused by the plan.
“There has been a lot of controversy because people don’t like change,” he said. “There’s plenty of people who are upset. I hated that we (Madison County) had to get divided up into four House districts, but I think we’ll be able to work with (the new representatives) and make sure Madison County is protected.”
The issue can be looked at from differing view points, said Madison County Clerk Kenny Barger.
“We’ve gone from three to four (representatives), so that gives us the possibility to have at least three people (elected from) Madison County,” Barger said.
Some of Madison County’s precincts will have to be changed because legislative district lines may not cross precinct lines.
“We can do away with some smaller precincts that were created when lines were redrawn 10 years ago,” he said. “This does change people’s polling places, and people don’t like that. In a growing county, that’s one of the side effects.”
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
Bill Robinson, Richmond Register senior news writer, also contributed to this story.
Local News
Related Photos
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This map shows the new legislative districts adopted by the General Assembly and signed Friday by the governor. It divides Madison County among four House of Representative districts, the 80th, 81st, 88th and 91st.
Madison County divided into four House districts
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