HENDERSON, KY (1/23/12) – In some political circles, the term “redistricting” can assume a negative connotation. However, the process of updating congressional districts has become a tradition on both sides of the aisle and occurs every ten years. In terms of numbers, state legislatures draw up new districts in response to several factors. However, most redistricting procedures focus mainly on reflecting changes in population.
 
For one local senator, the state’s new redistricting plans effectively orphan his seat by moving it to another area of the state. Senator Dorsey Ridley, who currently represents Caldwell, Crittenden, Henderson, Livingston, Union, and Webster counties in Kentucky’s 4th District, called the plan “political hardball.”
 
Henderson and Webster counties will now be moved to the 6th District, which is represented by Senator Jerry Rhoads. Union County becomes part of the 3rd District, which is represented by Senator Joey Pendleton. The 4th District seat will now serve the Lexington vicinity, about 200 miles away from Henderson.
 
"There wasn't a lot of time to digest it or understand it," Sen. Dorsey said. "This is not the first time this type of thing has occurred."
 
Since his seat is being moved to Lexington, Senator Dorsey will have to decide whether to run against close friend Jerry Rhoads for the 6th District seat in 2014. If he does not, he will not hold office in the future. If the redistricting plan is upheld, Ridley would effectively represent downtown Lexington for the next two years and would need to upend local challengers to hold onto the seat.
 
Senator Ridley said the legislature is attempting to “take me out of the Kentucky State Senate. But that is still to be determined."
 
However, major actors involved with the plan say just the opposite.
 
"Unfortunately, with the population shifts and changes, it required putting some incumbents in the same districts," said Sen. Damon Thayer, Chairman of the Senate State and Local Government Committee. "That is certainly not ideal, but unfortunately that is the decision we had to make in order to make sure we had a constitutional and legal map."
 
Ben Adams
SurfKY News

Copyright © 2012 SurfKY News Group, Inc. all rights reserved.  SurfKY.com is an eNewspaper providing local news FREE to Kentucky 24/7.  Read Statewide Kentucky News, Sports, Obituaries and more for Kentucky covering:  Calloway, Christian, Daviess, Henderson, Hopkins, McCracken, Muhlenberg, Warren, and Webster Counties as well as the Kentucky Lakes Area.