Commentary
About Politics and Policy
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5/16/2012
6:00:00 PM |
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The woman's
touch
By
CORY WILSON
"It's
hard to outwork a woman." - Cindy Hyde-Smith, Gallo
Radio Show, May 4, 2012
Hyde-Smith,
the state's first female Commissioner of Agriculture and
Commerce, and her sister-in-arms Lynn Fitch, only the
second female Treasurer, are both proving that
statement. Four months and one Legislative Session into
their terms as statewide officers, Fitch and Hyde-Smith
have settled into their new roles with energy and
style.
The
fact is that Hospitality State politics has not been so
hospitable to women. Before Fitch and Hyde-Smith were
elected last November, Mississippi had elected only
three women to statewide office: Nellah Massey Bailey,
the widow of Governor Thomas L. Bailey, who was Tax
Collector from 1947-56, Evelyn Gandy, and Amy Tuck. None
of the three served together, so having Fitch and
Hyde-Smith alongside each other among eight statewide
officials is unprecedented.
And
welcome. It has certainly led to a bond among the two
Republican women, who now lead a growing group of GOP
women in the Senate and the House, as well. Perhaps
comparing notes, Fitch and Hyde-Smith are running their
agencies with a similar "can-do" competence, all with a
woman's touch that is a distinctive part of each
leader's style.
At
Treasury, Lynn Fitch hit the ground running. She brought
her prior experience in state agencies and her
background as a private sector lawyer to bear on the
Treasury to produce immediate results. In her first 45
days, Fitch had identified and returned more than $3
million in unclaimed property to rightful owners. By her
first hundred days, she had returned over $6
million. |
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| 5/9/2012
6:00 PM |
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Redistricting the right
way
By CORY
WILSON |
Leadership
matters. Specifically, who is in a position of leadership, and
who is not, matters. One of the most far-reaching
accomplishments of the recently concluded 2012 Legislative
Session is also one that received relatively little fanfare
most of the Session. In case you missed it, legislators
overwhelmingly approved redistricting plans last week, during
the waning hours of the Session.
The
change in leadership from the Democrats in charge of last
year's redistricting fracas made a pronounced difference on
the House side, and, as a result, in the whole process. This
year's remap effort was disciplined and tightly controlled by
the committee chairs and leadership on both sides of the
Capitol, until virtually the day the proposed maps were made
public. Last year, redistricting dominated almost the whole
Session, and the fight was public, strident, and
personal.
Last
year's attempted House plan reflected that stridency. It
represented a clear effort by the embattled House leadership
to preserve an artificial Democratic majority. This year's
plan, while favoring Republicans, also reflects sound
principles for the most part. The new Senate plan likewise
seems to reflect the state's changing population and
politics.
The
new maps in both chambers are significantly more compact than
those drawn ten years ago, with more "single county" districts
(where the whole county is represented by the same legislator)
than before. Critically, the new plans feature fewer split
precincts while protecting communities of interest. Both are
important for better elections, and a better-functioning
democracy. Turns out it helps when people actually know who
their representative is.
The
2012 plans increase the number of majority-minority districts,
while accounting for population shifts over the past decade.
High-growth areas got additional representation. That seems
like a no-brainer, but in the 2011 Democratic plan, the Delta
kept all its seats, despite losing significant population,
while high growth areas like Madison County got no new seats.
It is all in how the maps are drawn (and who draws them).
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