County moving ahead on redistricting

GAINESVILLE - When the dust settles on the redrawing of Hall County Commission district lines, it looks like Ashley Bell's district will have added people and Craig Lutz' will have lost some.

The population shift is necessary to bring each close to the 45,000 or so needed in each district based on last year's census, according to Hall County Interim Elections Director Charlotte Sosebee.

Sosebee says Bell's minority-majority (47% Hispanic, 18% African-American) Gainesville District is about 18 percent under the 44,921-person benchmark for each of the four commission districts and Lutz' South Hall district is well over that number.

Sosebee says no shift in population is likely for the other two commission districts represented by Scott Gibbs and Billy Powell because their population numbers are within the established parameters.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2011/8/240991