Wilson may become county's congressman

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C. almost certainly will become Aiken County's lone congressman following the S.C. General Assembly's approval of a redistricting plan earlier this week.

The proposal would put Aiken County entirely within Wilson's revamped 2nd Congressional District. Jeff Duncan, elected last fall to the 3rd District, represents most of the county.

Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to sign the measure into law. However, the redistricting plan - required after each census for states still affected by a federal Voting Rights law - could face legal challenges and still must get approval by the U.S. Justice Department.

"It's very disappointing that we won't have two congressmen," said S.C. Rep. Bill Hixon, R-North Augusta. "It's not a matter of liking or not liking them, but we could have done more with both of them. We've got a big facility at the Savannah River Site, and two heads are better than one."

Hixon said he put up an amendment to include North Augusta in Duncan's 3rd District. His measure passed a first vote but lost out in a second and third. Ironically, Hixon lives just outside of North Augusta in Edgefield County, included in Duncan's district.

"I will still have two congressmen and look forward to working with both of them," Hixon said.

S.C. Rep. Bill Clyburn, D-Aiken, would have preferred that Edgefield County become a part of the 2nd Congressional District with Aiken County.

He can live with the end result, but "I'm not totally satisfied," Clyburn said. "The two counties have a lot in common, such as families, economic development programs and historical relationships."

Increased population led to an addition of a new 7th Congressional seat in South Carolina, which the General Assembly has placed primarily in the Horry County area. That forced major boundary line changes in the other six districts.

Earlier proposals would have moved the 2nd District east as far away as Beaufort County. Instead, the revised district includes all of Aiken, Barnwell and Lexington Counties, as well as portions of Orangeburg and Richland counties.

"It's much more compact, and that makes a great deal of sense," said S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken. "It better represents communities of interest and how much connection does Aiken have with Beaufort."

Tom Young, Aiken's District 81 S.C. House member, served on a redistricting committee and attended nine public hearings that included public input on the congressional seats. For the most part, the proposed congressional map reflects the large majority of opinions offered at the hearings, he said.

"It's a good plan, mostly following county lines," Young said. "It would have been difficult to keep Jeff Duncan in part of Aiken County. We had to take in considering the population shifts in the state and the requirements of the new congressional district."

Contact Rob Novit at 644-2391.