The Scotland County Republican Party hosted a number of the party's candidates on Monday night at the party's headquarters to discuss platforms and the importance of the election.
Redistricting is the process of reapportioning legislative districts that happens the first year of each decade.
Whichever party controls the legislature after the midterm election will be in the driver seat for redistricting.
Suzanne Allen, chairman of the Scotland County Republican Party, passed around current district maps for state House Districts 46 and 48.
"(It's) fascinating how they have gerrymandered these districts," Allen said.
Democratic Reps. Doug Yongue, of Laurinburg, and Garland Pierce, of Wagram, currently hold these seats.
The last time the legislature was GOP-controlled was in 1898, according to State senate candidate Jason Phibbs, which he believes is too long for any one party to control a government.
"It would be equally ridiculous if the Republican Party controlled it for that long," he said. "Government that is not accountable to the people is destructive, and it has been to our state."
Phibbs, an Albemarle Republican, is opposing Laurinburg Democrat state Sen. Bill Purcell in November.
Phibbs pointed to a $3 trillion state deficit, despite a $1 trillion tax hike in 2009, as symptomatic of a government that has lost touch with the taxpayers, in part because of unrivaled control.
That's what makes the 2010 elections so important, he said.
"Whoever gets to draw the line this year will have set in stone the next 10 years," Phibbs said.
He said he's concerned about the growth of government under Democratic stewardship.
"We are not too far off from a place where more people are dependent upon the government then are not," he said.
That leaves little time for action, Phibbs said.
"They are not going to give up those checks," he said. "They are not going to vote them away."
If more than half the populace is served by entitlement programs, Phibbs said, it will be impossible to do anything to "take them off the backs of the working people."
Phibbs also touched on one of Scotland County's hot-button issues – the school floor tax.
Scotland is the only county in the state that is required by state law to pay a set amount to the school system.
Scotland is known for having the highest property tax rate and the highest unemployment rate in the state.
"That is as much to do with anything with the school floor law," he said. "The school floor law is killing this county and the people of Scotland County deserve the opportunity to have a referendum to do away with it."
Republican candidate for state House John F. Harry, who is challenging Pierce, said he agreed with Phibbs on nearly every issue.
Harry asked for the support of local Republicans as he seeks to restore "limited government" and will cut taxes to spur economic growth.
State legislature candidates weren't the only to appear at the meeting.
Appellate Judges Barbara Jackson and Ann Marie Calabria, both Republicans, also asked local conservatives for support in the November election.
Calabria told those in attendance that her judicial philosophy "rests on the bedrock of the constitution, which established a government of limited power."
She promised to apply the law fairly and to protect individual liberties.
"I believe in judicial restraint, not judicial activism," Calabria said. "When people come before me, they know what to expect – fair treatment from a judge who sticks to the law and will not legislate from the bench."
Jackson, who is seeking a seat on the state Supreme Court, said she agreed with her fellow judge.
"This is why I let her speak first," Jackson said.
She told the audience that it is important to have qualified judges on the bench of the state's highest court as it hears a wide-range of important cases.
Pulling from current affairs, she said that both the North Carolina Racial Justice Act of 2009 and recent revelations of improper actions at the State Bureau of Investigation will soon flood court dockets with inmates seeking to overturn their convictions, lessen their sentences or have a new trial.
"We don't have any precedence to see how that will turn out," she said. "It is still an open question."
It may impact the court's ability to hear civil cases, she said.
The last candidate to speak was Bill Owens, who told the crowd he's trying to be the first Republican county commissioner in Scotland County's history, said he has a four-plank platform to revitalize Scotland County.
He wants to lower taxes by at least three cents, market the Laurinburg-Maxton Airport, fight against any new proposals for a regional landfill and promote cooperation between the county and the city of Laurinburg.
Owens said the county would attract more businesses, and needed jobs, if his platform is fulfilled.
"Without jobs, you can not have pride in yourself," he said.
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