Robeson County is epicenter of changes to 2012 NC Congressional map!

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Friday, July 1, 2011

Re-Districting Maps!

Re-Districting maps were made public today. Robeson has been split between two Congressional Districts. Congressman McIntyre is already complaining. In reality he should be happy. Had the County not been split, he would have been forced into the 8th Congressional District with Democratic Congressman Larry Kissell.


Robeson should get to know the name of Kissell as he, Schuler and Miller are the three Democrats most affected by re-districting. Their Districts are now decidedly more Republican. Kissell will run against a GOP contender to represent western and northern Robeson. Kissell is in an unlikely position to hold the seat and McIntyre would have been in a worse position being unknown in that District. The west end of the 8th is decidedly Republican. Kissell will not be able to hold on to the seat.

The new 7th District cuts up I-95 then carves out the middle of Lumberton. McIntyre lost about 3% right off the top. McCain won the 7th with 52% in 2008 but would have garnered 55% in this new District. Bush took 56% of the old 7th, he would have taken 59% in this new District. Keep in mind, McIntyre won his last election with about 53% so the loss puts him on the most level playing field of any Democrat.

The new 7th Congressional District consists of 42% Democrat, 32% Republican and 26% Unaffiliated. So of the four Democratic Congressmen affected – three are expected to lose and McIntyre’s is a toss-up at best. McIntyre’s challenger is Ilario Pantano, a former US Marine. The re-districting plan picks up Onslow county and the Marine Base there.

Clearly, the lawsuits will now begin regarding re-districting as they did when Democrats gerrymandered the State a decade ago. The Democrats horrendous map has stood for the past decade. There is little reason the Republican map will not stand for the next.

At best, Republicans expected a county represented by a Democrat & a Republican as a result of re-districting as the 8th was expected to be a Majority-Minority District - it's not. As it turns out, Robeson actually has the chance of being represented by two Republicans.

Operations level Republicans are still studying the maps. But so far, things will be interesting as Republicans have a lot of work to do.
8th Congressional District West & North Robeson - 7th Congressional District South East Robeson = Dividing Lumberton.

Posted by Phillip Stephens, Chairman at 7:38 PM  

Del Pietro: NC Seventh District 'going nowhere' under Mike McIntyre -- after 14 years!

By Verne Strickland
March 28, 2011

"His tenure appears to have fallen flat as far as generating any real progress for the poor, disadvantaged and sick people in his own county," said Wilmington resident Del Pietro of current U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre.

Robeson County is where McIntyre keeps his residence, and Pietro says if he's not taking care of the home folks, he is not taking care of business.

"The first thing you should do in politics and business is benchmark," advises Pietro, 38, an announced candidate to challenge McIntyre in the 2012 Democratic primary.

Redistricting, though, which will be shaped within the coming few weeks, could change a lot of things. It's not clear what the Seventh District will look like after a GOP-dominated redistricting committee finishes its work. Candidate match-ups, district boundaries, and even party switching make the whole scenario fluid and dynamic.

Pietro has long talked of challenging McIntyre. He can do that even if McIntyre's home County of Robeson is carved out of the Seventh District and placed in an adjoining District, such as the Eighth -- which makes sense to many observers.

Robeson is where McIntyre votes, so he has the responsibility -- or blame -- for much of what happens there in terms of opportunity and quality of life. It's not a situation he brags about.

"If you take a look at what the economics and the health statistics were in Robeson County, his home county, when he took office, until now, these benchmarks haven’t improved one bit," Pietro asserts. "We just have to wait until the new census figures come out to prove what is my assumption -- that the situation has probably even worsened on Mr. McIntyre's watch."

According to Democrat challenger Pietro, a family man and resident of Wilmington, McIntyre gets low marks for leadership, low ratings for planning and execution -- both required in order to change the fate of people in his county and district.

"The most astounding thing is that Congressman McIntyre has no plan, and never has had a plan, for the future of his own District. I’ve never seen one and nobody knows of one. So he doesn't have an idea which way to go, and can be accurately described as totally reactionary,"

McIntyre describes himself as a conservative, but Pietro charges that he votes in the conservative column just enough to get re-elected in his District, where this stance plays well.

"We have here an opportunist who does just enough to get elected," Pietro commented. "He knows the liberals in the district are going to vote for him no matter what. So he appeases conservatives every now and then by throwing them a bone, such as his vote to repeal health care. And nobody calls him out. It's shameful."

Congressman McIntyre will host a "Job Creation Summit" on Tuesday, March 29, from 10:00 am to 12 noon at the Cape Fear Community College north campus, 4500 Blue Clay Road in Castle Hayne. The event is free and open to the public.

Candidate Pietro is not impressed.

"It's just another photo op, doesn't stand a chance of accomplishing anything for the unemployed, under-educated, sick and impoverished people in his district. This should have taken place ten years ago," said Pietro.

"Robeson County is right at the top of the heap when it comes to need, and right at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to any hope of eventually climbing out.
That's not going to change under a Congressman whose claim to fame is bringing in a new firetruck or a few loads of sand," Pietro concluded.

Del Pietro said he will attend McIntyre's job creation summit on Tuesday. "I'm looking for a job too -- representing the Seventh District in the U.S. Congress," Pietro said.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Del-Pietro-NC-7th-Congressional-District/131774246836913

http://www.facebook.com/mikemcintyre

Del Pietro describes Congressman Mike McIntyre: "He proves himself to be a poor leader."

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

"With all the pressing issues before us as a nation, none is more important than
getting Americans back to work," declares Congressman Mike McIntyre in a news
release. "I will be hosting a jobs summit in Southeastern North Carolina geared
towards business owners and management."

Del Pietro, a declared candidate for Congress in the Seventh District, vows he'll be there. He's looking for a job too -- McIntyre's seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives, which the incumbent has held for fourteen years.

A Democrat, 38-year-old Wilmington resident Pietro plans to keep McIntyre on the
defensive during the run-up to the 2012 primary contests. He's getting a good, early start and pledges an honest, aggressive campaign to deny McIntyre participation in the Fall general election.

Pietro is impatient with the fact that McIntyre is promoting a jobs event with such
fanfare at this late date in his career, as his home county of Robeson suffers more
than most from joblessness, poverty and lack of opportunity.

"I want to know why this wasn't done ten years ago," said Pietro in an exclusive interview earlier this week. "I don't know why there wasn't enough forward thinking to see this coming. And I want to know why our Congressman is reactionary instead of being proactive. This is too late to be holding this type of forum, to finally be getting aggressive on jobs.

"Because Mr. McIntyre didn't have that foresight, he proves himself to be a very poor leader. He does only what it takes to keep himself in public office. That's not acceptable. It wouldn't be acceptable on either side of the aisle."

The Wilmington area Job Creation Summit is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, March
29, from 10:00 am to 12 noon at the Cape Fear Community College north campus, 4500 Blue Clay Road in Castle Hayne. The event is free and open to the public.

Congressman McIntyre's statement concluded, "We must plan for the future with an aggressive economic development strategy, investment in workforce training, a strong educational system, and an entrepreneurial community that is actively creating its own innovations and businesses. All of these areas will be discussed with an eye to the future of our nation and southeastern North Carolina."

But candidate Del Pietro dismisses this as mere political rhetoric. "Even now there is no cohesive plan for the Seventh District, and this is Mr. McIntyre's personal failure."

Pietro continued: "I believe in accountability. In this congressman's own backyard, he has lived in the poorest and sickest county in this State, while being in office for the past fourteen years, and this disgrace has not improved one bit. I'm waiting for the census figures to come out. My guess is Robeson County has moved backward. That is staggering for a sitting congressman's home county."