Four Fulton County Democrats

will represent north Fayette County in the state House of Representatives,

predicts Lynn Westmoreland.

Sixty-six percent of that part

of Fayette voted Republican in the latest elections, he said.

But the area has been made

part of a four-person House district that includes all of south Fulton

and a small portion of downtown Atlanta. That area comprises 75 percent

of the new mega-district, and the district as a whole, including north

Fayette, voted 66 percent Democratic.

Westmoreland, a Coweta Republican

who represents part of Fayette and is the minority leader in the House,

is traveling the state and plans to have town hall meetings in every county

to explain how each will be affected by the recently completed redrawing

of state Legislature and U.S. Congress seats.

Westmoreland explained that

in the state House, Fayette had a two-member delegation before reapportionment,

including himself and fellow Republican Kathy Cox of Peachtree City. After

reapportionment, the county will most likely be represented by four Democrats

in the north and three Republicans in the south, spanning three districts.

While not calling it a very

likely scenario, Westmoreland suggested on a rare occasion the split delegation

could block local legislation requested by Fayette County or its cities,

if state Democratic leaders felt the legislation might be partisan in

any way.

The two-member 85th District

includes parts of Henry, Butts, Spalding and Fayette, with Fayette making

up 40 percent of its population. Republican John Lunsford of Henry County

currently represents the 85th, and attended last week's meeting to meet

local voters.

With 40 percent of the district's

population, it's possible Fayette voters could put one of their own into

at least one of those seats, said Westmoreland.

The new District 86, the one

Westmoreland occupies, will now be made up mostly of Coweta County, plus

two Peachtree City precincts that hold about 10,000 people. Westmoreland

said he is optimistic about being reelected for that district.

District 48, the new four-member

district with a population of 176,939, encloses three current Fulton representatives,

all of whom, Westmoreland predicted, are likely to be reelected. They

are Joe Heckstall of East Point, Bob Holmes of Atlanta and Sharon Beasley-Teague

of south Fulton.

"Sharon, Bob and Joe and

going to pick somebody that they want to be in that delegation" for

the newly created fourth seat, Westmoreland predicted matter-of-factly.

It's not impossible that a

Fayette resident could be elected, he said in answer to questioning from

a Fayette resident who is an unannounced Democratic candidate for that

seat, "but I'm just telling you what usually happens in my experience.

People usually vote for the person that lives in their county."

In the state Senate, Fayette

is currently represented by two districts, the 28th with Republican Sen.

Mitch Seabaugh of Coweta County and the 34th, represented by Democrat

Greg Hecht of Clayton County. Fayette residents make up 28.7 percent of

the 28th and 24 percent of the 34th District, Westmoreland said.

Under reapportionment, the

county will be part of three senate seats:

District 34 will be a majority

black, Democratic district that covers most of Fayetteville and Tyrone,

and takes in a large portion of Clayton, including Riverdale. Twenty-seven

percent of the new district will be Fayette residents, and the district

will be 54 percent minorities.

Hecht has announced his campaign

for the new 13th congressional district seat, and so far no candidates

have announced for the 34th. Westmoreland said because of population numbers,

he expects a winning candidate to come out of Riverdale.

District 17, currently represented

City and runs eastward through the county's midsection, then takes in

parts of Spalding, Henry, Rockdale and Newton, running northeastward as

far as Loganville, 30 miles west of Athens.

Fayette makes up 11 percent

of the district. "I think Mike will do a good job of representing

Fayette County," said Westmoreland.

District 28 will have most

of Peachtree City, LaGrange and Newnan, and parts of Spalding and Pike

counties. Fayette is 23 percent of the district, which is currently represented

In the Congress, Fayette is

now all in the 3rd District, represented by Mac Collins of Hampton.

District 3 has been shifted

elsewhere and most of Collins' old district will be in the 8th, which

still will cover most of Fayette.

Fayette was just under 14 percent

of the 3rd and will make up about the same portion of the 8th District.

Two Fayette voting precincts,

Kenwood and Europe, will be included in the new 13th District. There are

about 4,500 residents in the two precincts, said Westmoreland.

Hecht and former Democratic

Party Chairman David Worley have announced their candidacy for the new

seat, along with state Sen. David Scott and state Sen. Donzella James

of Fulton County. One Republican, Clay Cox of Gwinnett County, has announced

for the seat.

The district winds around metro

Atlanta in a fashion described by one critic as "splatter art."

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