Although there were definitely divisions among the 93 people who came to speak at the Florida Legislature’s redistricting public hearing at Jefferson high School in Tampa Monday night – there was one issue that brought people together.
That would be that Congressional District 11, which covers Tampa and most of Hillsborough County – not contain South St. Petersburg and Manatee County in next year’s redrawing of the seat currently held by Democrat Kathy Castor, which makes it one of the most obvious gerrymandered districts in the state.
That complaint brought home that most people speaking – Democrats, Republicans and independents – truly hate gerrymandering, which is what the passage of amendments 5 and 6 on the November ballot last year is supposed to alleviate.
But there was absolute a divide among the dozens and dozens of people who spoke for nearly four hours at the hearing. Those who strongly believe that the Legislature has their marching orders with the huge success of those amendments last year, and those who question the measure, calling it ambiguous.
Supporters of amendments 5 and 6 say the mandate is to draw congressional and legislative lines in a “fair, compact and contiguous” fashion. Supporters of that measure maintained the mantra of “show us the maps.”
This article appears in Aug 25-31, 2011.
