October 25

REDISTRICTING TALKS STALL; BLACK CAUCUS DEAL WITH GOP STILL POSSIBLE

Gongwer 10/24/11

Negotiations between Republicans and Democrats on revising congressional maps were frozen as of Monday, but black lawmakers still might be willing to deal directly with the GOP majority.
Rep. Sandra Williams (D-Cleveland), president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, said in an interview that she still hopes to be able to bring Republican and Democratic General Assembly leaders together to hash out a compromise on new congressional district boundaries.
"But if we can't get our two groups together, and we can achieve the same thing, we'd be willing to entertain that," she said about dealing directly with GOP leaders on new maps.
 "They know that we're willing to work with them. I think the longer we wait, the less likely black caucus members are willing to step out away from the party. So the sooner, the better," she said.
http://www.gongwer-oh.com/programming/news_articledisplay.cfm?article_ID=802050201&newsedition_id=8020502&locid=2