The day after Jacksonville argued in court that it did not have enough time to pass the new rezoning map, City Council Speaker Terrance Freeman rejected it.
“The task of this committee is to complete the new map,” he said at the beginning of the first District Realignment Committee meeting. “And we will. This committee will meet the timeline set by the court.”
Last week, U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard banned Jacksonville from using city council and Duvall School Board district maps that it passed earlier this year, citing possible racial gerrymandering in the district. In response, the city said Wednesday that her deadline to hand over new maps by November 8 was too onerous.
In fact, Freeman said on Thursday that the council will pass a new map by Nov. 4, four days before the court’s deadline. The council will do this with new zoning consultants hired by the city’s attorneys to create maps and serve as expert witnesses in federal court cases.
Douglas Johnson of the National Demographics Corporation plans to provide the map to the council on November 1, at which time Freeman said the council can provide feedback.
Whatever map the city council passes, it must be a “wholesale review of the city’s districts,” city attorney Mary Margaret Giannini told the commission.
“What you can’t do in this process is start with the assumption that the 2011 line is fine, and then just fiddle around with the edges,” she said.
The city council committee did not approve of the standards or standards Johnson would give in drawing the map. Freeman said he doesn’t want anyone talking about the map until Johnson has submitted a draft. “My goal is to not pre-empt the process in the map drawer,” he said. “I want to avoid a situation where I get lost in the rabbit’s path.”
Giannini told the committee that Johnson would “produce various maps for review and consideration.”
Freeman said the public could send an email to 2022redistricting@coj.net or attend the city council meeting next Tuesday or the special district reorganization committee meeting at noon on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. You can submit your comments and ask questions to Congress by attending the meetings. November 3rd.
Freeman said he will also host a “Map Chat” town hall on the evening of November 3.
Freeman did not answer questions about who would advise Johnson when drawing the map. I just said that I would entrust it.
Gaffney asked if members of the council could meet privately and one-on-one with Johnson about Johnson’s map. Giannini said he would take that into account.
City Councilman Aaron Bowman, the former chairman of the redistricting committee, said Giannini’s reaction was “a matter of concern.” This is because the City Council, not the Office of the General Counsel, is responsible for creating the new map, and the City Council should decide whether it can discuss it with the Mayor. Expert. “The map is ours,” he said. “The maps belong to the city council, not the lawyers.
“I think it’s up to you,” Bowman said to Gaffney and Freeman. “… it’s not a topic at a law firm. Can we talk here?”
City Councilman Rory Diamond, the only member of Congress to vote against the canceled plan, said, “The most likely scenario is that the new map is different from what we’ve seen here in Jacksonville since about 1991. It means that it will become,” he said. When the council drew four districts that were at least 63% black.
Even if the city council wins the court-ordered appeal, Diamond said it wouldn’t stop next year’s full-blown racial gerrymandering trial.
City Councilman Matt Carlucci said he won’t be in town for the Nov. 4 map vote, but no matter how the Court of Appeals rules, the city council will consider what’s right for Jacksonville citizens. said it should. He was the only one to say that he opposed the decision on appeal against the court order.
“Regardless of court rulings, we should strive to make these districts more compact and to take care of the communities within those districts,” he said. I believe that people of any color, race or ethnicity should have a greater chance of winning races.”
“…if we don’t, we are leaving — forgetting the courts, forgetting the appeals and I think we are letting our community down. I strongly recommend that you give more importance to your districts and diversify them.It will affect other districts.But I believe it can have a better impact on other districts. I think you could make a mistake if you don’t.”
“…we believe we will not let the court down,” he concluded. “We believe we will let the public down.”
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