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Speakers At Redistricting Meeting Demand Fairness, Transparency

Redistricting meeting co-chairs Sen. Joyce Krawiec (R-Davie) and Rep. Sarah Stevens (R-Surry) listen to a speaker Tuesday at Forsyth Technical Community College. PAUL GARBER/WFDD

Keep like-minded communities together and be more open about the mapping process. Those were key themes expressed by speakers who packed an auditorium at Forsyth Technical Community College for a public meeting on the state's redistricting efforts. 

Rev. Willard Bass of Winston-Salem urged lawmakers to be transparent and fair as they redraw the state's political boundaries.

“Our nation is in a turmoil right now,” he said. “You can make a difference. Our nation needs you, our state needs you, and our cities need you. Thank you and do the right thing.”

Tina Forsberg is chairwoman of the Sixth District Republicans. She told the 11-member bipartisan panel that she trusts the process but wants more competitive districts.

“It will lead to better voter turnout and people really thinking that their vote can make a difference,” she said.

Other speakers wanted more public input, especially after the preliminary maps have been drawn.

Paul Garber is a Winston-Salem native and an award-winning reporter who began his journalism career with an internship at The High Point Enterprise in 1993. He has previously worked at The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The News and Record of Greensboro and the Winston-Salem Journal, where he was the newspaper's first full-time multimedia reporter. He won the statewide Media and the Law award in 2000 and has also been recognized for his business, investigative and multimedia reporting. Paul earned a BA from Wake Forest University and has a Master's of Liberal Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Master's of Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in Lewisville.

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