I have been remiss in not commenting in this forum the legal
battles surrounding the most recent decennial redistricting, which remain
ongoing after four plus years. On December 6, 2011 I was quoted by the Tampa
Bay Times as saying “I would say [the
Senate redistricting committee] did not listen to the voters and I’m quite
displeased. If anything, [US Congressional District 5, formerly 3] looks more
gerrymandered than before.”
Arguably, the League of Women Voters (LoWV) has taken the lead
to hold the Senate redistricting committee accountable. As a result of the LoWV’s tireless
efforts, the FL Supreme Court recently stated the maps most be withdrawn to
follow the letter of law as it pertains to the Fair District Amendments that were overwhelmingly passed by Florida voters in 2010. Why the FL Supreme Court did
not make this ruling the first time is unknown to me, but now that the maps are
being redrawn once again to meet the law, Corrine Brown, not surprisingly, disapproves. Last week she filed a Federal lawsuit claiming that the potentially
new district violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act; however, today she withdrew from the lawsuit, but I suspect she may eventually rejoin the lawsuit or file a new once once the new maps are approved.
What Ms. Brown ignores or just does not know is that voters in her district (at least
per my analysis in 2012 of Duval County voting records) voted in favor and essentially in-line with all other voters for the
Fair District Amendments; there was only a 15 bps (0.0015) difference. In
others words, her constituents do not
want gerrymandering either.
If she focused on the issues pertinent to voters then she
would have nothing to worry about because I think the election of Barack Obama
to two terms indicates that most people look past one’s skin color (even
if Barack Obama may openly disagree) to focus on their qualifications and
ability to resolve issues using critical thinking skills. Ms. Brown has been very fortunate the past two decades for not having more competition, but I believe that may change once the district she represents is redrawn.
