There may not be a perfect way to allocate representation on the Macon County Board of Commissioners, but the current system doesn’t seem poised to change anytime soon.
In Macon County, commissioners serve four-year staggered terms, with two or three of them up for reelection every two years. While residents from anywhere in the county can vote for all commissioner seats, a candidate must reside in a particular district to run for a seat to represent that district. The board has one seat for District 1, which is mostly comprised of Highlands, one seat for District 3, which covers the Nantahala region, and the other three seats for District 2, which caters to the Franklin area. District 2’s extra representation corresponds to its much higher population, but having multiple seats means that residents of the district can run for office every two years, whereas residents of District 1 and District 3 only get their shot once every four years.
Commissioner Paul Higdon, who represents District 3 on the board, feels that this is an unfair disadvantage for residents of the smaller districts, and he has spoken for several months about exploring options to make the system more equitable. Last week, he pitched the idea of replacing the two extra District 2 seats with at-large districts, which would be open to any candidate from any district. The change would allow residents to throw their hat in the ring in any county election year.
“That way, anybody in Macon County who wants to seek a commissioner’s seat can file for office every two years,” Higdon said. “There’ll only be one opening [for at-large seats] every two years and it may have 40 people sign up for it, but it gives an opportunity.”
County attorney Eric Ridenour said it’s within the commissioners’ purview to set up such a system if they please. The Macon County Board of Education already uses a similar system, with board chairman Jim Breedlove as the at-large representative. However, that’s only legal if all districts have dedicated representatives in a number proportionate to their population, so the current districts would have to be redrawn to make all three about equal in size. The commissioners would have to vote to approve a new electoral map, and even then, it would be up to the general public to decide if it becomes law.
“It has to be voted on by the public,” Ridenour said. “You pass the resolution outlining all the terms that we’ve talked about and where the lines are being drawn, and then that would be put on the referendum.”
Commissioner Ronnie Beale of District 2 feels that such a project would be a solution in search of a problem. He says that the current representation system works well enough and that redrawing districts would be an inefficient use of resources.
“The system that we have now has worked extremely well for many, many years,” Beale said. “I think it’s a waste of time for this board to try to fix something that ain’t broke.”
Chairman Jim Tate of District 1 was also averse to the idea. He agrees that the smaller districts are a bit left out in the current system and that it could be made more equitable, but while opening up at-large districts could lead to more representation for his hometown of Highlands, expanding the district further out could end up cutting the town off of the board completely.
“I think it would be fairer than the way the system is now across the county,” Tate said. “But the problem is you’re going to have to increase the size of the districts of 1 and 3… it increases the chance that someone from Highlands might not be sitting on this board.”
No action was taken on changing the county’s electoral districts, but Higdon says he intends to “keep on harping on this.”
The Macon County Board of Commissioners will meet again on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. in the boardroom at the Macon County Courthouse.