According to today’s Daily News Journal, it appears as though Rutherford County will pick up an additional full State House seat in this year’s redistricting process:

Rutherford County’s explosive growth will net a fourth full House district in early 2012, likely on the county’s west side in the Blackman and Almaville areas, legislators say.

State lawmakers this week confirmed the county, which grew 44 percent to 262,600 in 2010 from 182,023 in 2000, will receive a new House seat in the coming redistricting of the state Legislature.

Redistricting is done every 10 years following the federal census to ensure the populace has equal representation. House members are holding meetings to start the process, which could be done in January.

According to 2010 Census data, Rutherford County was one of the fastest growing counties in the state from 2000 to 2010. The fastest growing parts of the county is the area immediately west of Murfreesboro — the Blackman and Almaville communities (where I grew up). The image in this DNJ article gives you an idea.

More from the original story:

“That’s going to be a great opportunity for someone to run without an incumbent (in the race),” said state Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, who chairs the Republican Caucus and serves on the committee redrawing the district lines.

Rep. Rick Womick, a first-term Murfreesboro Republican whose district is Tennessee’s largest with 101,480 residents, predicted the new district would run from Eagleville up the western side of the county to western Smyrna in the Stewarts Creek and Giles Creek areas, and possibly take in part of Murfreesboro west of state Route 840.

“I’ve got to lose almost 37,000 people,” said Womick, who represents District 34 from Rockvale to northwest Murfreesboro, Blackman, Almaville and much of Smyrna.

The goal is to reach four equal districts of 64,102 residents, plus or minus 5 percent, legislators said. Under the plan, Rep. Pat Marsh, a Shelbyville Republican, would lose Eagleville and part of Rockvale he represents in southwestern Rutherford County as part of House District 62, which is comprised primarily of Bedford and Lincoln counties.

State Rep. Mike Sparks, R-Smyrna, would have to lose about 17,000 people in the 49th District, and Rep. Joe S. Carr, R-Lascassas, would need to drop about 11,000 people in the 48th District, which takes up all of eastern Rutherford County, eastern Murfreesboro and an area west of Shelbyville Highway in Rockvale. Sparks has the sixth largest district in the state with 81,804 people, and Carr’s district has 75,364 residents.

Of course, redistricting expert John Ryder will be retained to carry out the plan.

Undoubtedly, Rep. Sparks’ district will shrink into Smyrna and LaVergne, and pull out of Murfreesboro to make room for a fourth district.

There’s lots of good stuff in that article. I encourage you to read it in full if you get a chance.

The DNJ also reported today that Election Commission chairman Ransom Jones wants to complete the process quickly:

“They need to move on with this,” said local Republican Ransom Jones, chairman of the Rutherford County Election Commission. “It has to be done by the first of the year (January 2012). That’s the drop-dead date. Time is going to be short.”

The county is having to adjust boundary lines for each commission district to be within 5 percent of a target size of 12,505 residents based on the 2010 U.S. Census.

The 21-member County Commission last week approved a process to appoint an 11-member redistricting committee to recommend boundaries lines for their districts.

The committee will include seven county commissioners: three from rural areas, two from Murfreesboro, one from La Vergne and one from Smyrna.

The Election Commission will provide the redistricting committee with two of its five part-time members, a Republican and a Democrat, as well as its full-time Election Administrator Nicole Lester.

The other redistricting committee member will be a citizen who doesn’t have to have previous experience.

Those interested in serving must apply in August before the commission’s seven-member Steering, Legislative & Governmental Committee, which will make a recommendation prior to the full commission ratifying the make up of the redistricting committee Aug. 11.

It appears as though trouble is brewing, as Alan Farley steps into the scene as a potential member of the redistricting committee. Alan Farley is the brother of County Commissioner Gary Farley, who has managed to secure most of his family on government payroll since first being elected to the County Commission some two decades ago.

This’ll be one to watch.