Politics & Government

Revised Redistricting Bill Passes House

The vote was 127-31.

A passed the Georgia House of Representatives on Monday

House Bill 1223, co-sponsored by Reps. (R-Cumming),Β  (R-Canton), (R-Holly Springs) and Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock), passed 127-31, according to the website of the Georgia General Assembly.

Attempts to reach the sponsors, all of whom are members of the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation, have been unsuccessful.

Find out what's happening in Woodstock-Towne Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After , the delegation agreed to retool the measure.

The tweaked bill elicited the same reaction as the original version.

Find out what's happening in Woodstock-Towne Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Cherokee Board of Education Chairman , which would pair him in the same post as Robert Wofford and Vice Chair Janet Read in the same post as Rick Steiner. Chapman and Read are up for re-election, but Wofford and Steiner are not. They would automatically lose their seats.Β 

"This bill (which has been authored by a House member who does not live in Cherokee County, does not have children in Cherokee County schools and will no longer be in the Cherokee County Legislative Delegation based upon the State's most recent redistricting decisions) does not reflect the will of the Cherokee County citizens who will be impacted by it," Chapman wrote.

Cherokee County School District spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby took it a step further in a separate statement. for the Board of Education's .Β 

"The fact these are the four School Board members who voted last year to deny the flawed Cherokee Charter Academy petition is no coincidence," she wrote. "It has been reported that these School Board members were threatened by members of the Delegation that they would be drawn out of their posts if they made such a vote, and that threat has now apparently come to pass.

The next day, Cherokee Citizens for Kids penned its own letter and called the revisions "."

HB 1223 now heads to the Senate for approval.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Woodstock-Towne Lake