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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A special Jacksonville City Council committee narrowed down new city council and school district boundary maps from two choices to one on Wednesday, though its work is not done.
On Thursday, the committee will make its choice in maps official and then a town hall meeting for more public comment will take place Thursday night. A final vote during a special full city council meeting will happen on Friday.
The council had its pick between maps that have been dubbed “Lime” and “Maroon,” and ultimately chose to move forward with “Maroon.” It will now make tweaks to that map in the coming days.
The districts are being redrawn because a federal judge said the city used race to determine previously passed boundaries, which is illegal. The city council now has just six days to finalize a new plan.
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The committee met Tuesday to discuss four maps but came under fire by some after no one had a chance to study them before the council tossed two aside.
That changed on Wednesday, following reporting from News4JAX and other media, so that public comment was allowed before any of the maps were set aside.
Though some were happy about that change, there was still pushback concerning the Maroon maps from the groups that filed the lawsuit that led to redrawing process and the leader of the Riverside Avondale Preservation.
When Ayesha Franklin Covington spoke on Wednesday, she ripped up a proposed map to make a point. She was one of the plaintiffs who filed suit, the suit that lead to the city council being forced to come up with new boundaries.
“The judge has been very clear about her rulings concerning the voting rights act and we have to follow the law. These meetings are a waste of our time. We are not here for a fight, frankly, we already won the fight and what you’re doing is digging your heels in. Fighting with your constituents about a matter a federal judge has ruled on,” Covington said.
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She was not alone. The committee heard from others not necessarily in a minority community, but those who live in the Avondale and Riverside areas. They are upset that their one council district could be divided up into three different ones.
“And my concern is if it’s split in three, that it will not get the representation that it deserves,” said councilwoman Randy Defoor, who represents the area.
After hearing from the public, the council began the work of changing the maps and moving some of the lines in neighborhoods. Council members voiced concerns about their districts.
“Basically, I was drawn out of my district,” councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman said. “And so at the end of the day, we want to make sure that we, you know, keep the neighborhoods together, because, again, it’s a confusion with the residents and the businesses that are in those communities.”
The council’s maps under consideration could actually lead to less minority representation.
Daniel Henry who heads up the Duval Democratic Party said that should never happen if they follow the judge’s order.
Instead of using race to determine boundary lines, the committee can use political party registrations. For example, have a set number of registered Democrats or Republicans in an area. News4JAX asked City Council President Terrance Freeman about that.
“What we’re really using is going off of the maps that will give them that we started with and we are trying to build this process out with my colleagues, that’s going to be legal is going to be lawful, it’s going to be transparent,” Freeman said. “And as I said, today was a good day. It is a day that we have generated a lot of momentum, the work of my colleagues, the voices of the people, and I really look forward to continue that momentum into tomorrow.”
