City Council Redistricting Plan Released
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/1405388306_RKKVMJt-M.jpg)
Every ten years, the Jacksonville City Council adjusts its district lines to ensure an equitable population distribution within each district based on the decennial census. On July 27, the City of Jacksonville's Planning Department presented a draft redistricting plan to the Reapportionment Committee. Here is a look at the new proposed plan and how it compares to the existing.
Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2011-aug-city-council-redistricting-plan-released
Time is running out. City charter deadline for plan adoption is Dec.1, 2011
2010-604- Shipyards/Landmar. Councilman Redman you are now chair of Waterways and in a position of legislative power to introduce legislation that would keep the Promised 680' Downtown Public Pier separate. Waterways Commission meeting in 8 days. The pier is in Dist.4 your current District. You have refused to return my phone calls and emails and that is your choice.
I believe in my heart that economic opportunity to our St. Johns River our American Heritage River will be greatly restricted and under total govt. control and your refusal to introduce legislation has led the conspiracy that extends beyond Duval county.
On the surface it looks good. Its the potential leaching underground that concerns me.
Why does district 9 even cross the river? Why not make district 5 also cover the southbank?
Lumping Merrill Rd/Ft Caroline East, Beacon Hill, and Hidden Hills areas in with Oceanway and the port is a head-scratcher. That's going to do neither area any good.
It appears two districts jump the river because the Southside/Beaches/Arlington population is greater than all of the communities combined on the other side of the river.
It's always good when whole neighborhoods are represented by the same councilperson. I wish San Marco and the Southbank were in one district, but it's better that it would be in two rather than the current three, I suppose.
Another good move is putting Mayport, including the base, in the Beaches district, and Bayard and the southeastern part of the county in the Mandarin district.
Am I imagining things or is the historic core now split into? I know someone said the historic core now falls under district 7, but looking at the map it appears to be split.
"HU"
Quote from: Tacachale on August 02, 2011, 08:49:47 AM
It's always good when whole neighborhoods are represented by the same councilperson. I wish San Marco and the Southbank were in one district, but it's better that it would be in two rather than the current three, I suppose.
Another good move is putting Mayport, including the base, in the Beaches district, and Bayard and the southeastern part of the county in the Mandarin district.
There is good and bad. The one downside is now Riverside and Avondale will have one vote on the council, not two. Don't understimate that.
Quote from: acme54321 on August 02, 2011, 05:50:03 AM
Why does district 9 even cross the river? Why not make district 5 also cover the southbank?
D9 is a minority access district. They needed the stretch to Emerson to be able to maintain it.
There was a proposed map that wrapped D5 around D9 and back up to cover the Southbank and cross the river to include the downtown core. Apparently, Dr Gaffney didn't want to lose downtown so he rejected the plan. He is the head of the committee, so there wasn't much chance of getting around that. It would have been nice to have Lori Boyer representing downtown (northbank and southbank).
Quote from: heights unknown on August 02, 2011, 10:48:53 AM
Am I imagining things or is the historic core now split into? I know someone said the historic core now falls under district 7, but looking at the map it appears to be split.
"HU"
The historic core of DT is in 7. LaVilla is in 9. The dividing line appears to be Jefferson Street.
No District should assume crossing the River.Silly,and an afront to historical influence,still evident today.
District 14 should finally properly contract to the Historical epicenter,regardless of current population/growth that the core District presence helped inspire,and regardless of demographic mix parameters.
Quote from: dougskiles on August 02, 2011, 12:12:38 PM
It would have been nice to have Lori Boyer representing downtown (northbank and southbank).
+ 1 million!!!
Not at all in love with the idea of breaking up Arlington and East Arlington into different districts, particularly not when the East Arlington district will be dominated by a larger chunk of land heading up toward Oceanway. Jumping the river anywhere is a bad idea for a council district.
^I agree on East Arlington, but there are always going to be problems in districting, and the new version as a whole makes District 11 substantially less ridiculous than it is now. On jumping the river, it's important to ensure minority representation in the city council, however it's done. At any rate in this version, fewer districts jump the river than they do now.
Ensuring minority representation by clumping people into these "minority access" districts is one of the most racist and totally insane things we still do.
We have a black President... are we still holding to this idea that white people are unwilling to vote for anyone but a white person to represent them? Or that racial representation trumps neighborhood representation?
How about we have requirements that 9 of the council seats be filled by women?
If we just drew boxes around neighborhoods without worrying about race, I would bet money we'd have nearly the same numbers of black and white people on the city council that we have now.
Federal law says you can't disenfranchise voters...the test of how this relates to minority areas today will clearly be shown in how the FL Legislature deals with Corrine Brown's gerrymandered district.
Quote from: AFCassidy on August 05, 2011, 11:28:44 AM
Ensuring minority representation by clumping people into these "minority access" districts is one of the most racist and totally insane things we still do.
We have a black President... are we still holding to this idea that white people are unwilling to vote for anyone but a white person to represent them? Or that racial representation trumps neighborhood representation?
How about we have requirements that 9 of the council seats be filled by women?
If we just drew boxes around neighborhoods without worrying about race, I would bet money we'd have nearly the same numbers of black and white people on the city council that we have now.
And I would bet that that's nonsense. It's not about assuming white people won't vote for black politicians, it's about ensuring the city council accurately reflects the city's demographics. And it's not as if ethnicity were the primary factor in drawing up the districts, its just one of several legitimate factors. It will remain one until the point neighborhoods are integrated such that it's obsolete.
I really can't believe no one is talking about the fact that downtown and Springfield will now be lumped with the exurbs in this latest re-districting.
Riverside/Avondale and Springfield could be essentially losing two councilpersons in this latest scheme.
It appears some changes have been made since August 2nd.
August 2 plan
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/1405388271_VG7PZHV-M.jpg)
Plan shown in the TU tonight (Aug 15)
(http://jacksonville.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/photos/blogs/147/Districts081111Map.jpg)
link: http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/steve-patterson/2011-08-15/public-meetings-scheduled-planned-jacksonville-city
Very pleased to see East Arlington being handled with a bit more care, even if it's going to still be tied to Oceanway.
Quote from: Tacachale on August 02, 2011, 08:49:47 AM
It's always good when whole neighborhoods are represented by the same councilperson. I wish San Marco and the Southbank were in one district, but it's better that it would be in two rather than the current three, I suppose.
Another good move is putting Mayport, including the base, in the Beaches district, and Bayard and the southeastern part of the county in the Mandarin district.
I totally agree about a single district for the Beaches and Mayport. I did not see the logic in forcing Baldwin and Mayport into the same district.
Still don't like how San Marco, St Nick and the Southbank are split by district 7 (or whichever) coming across the river.
Dont know that I like the way District 7 is drawn. What the heck does Downtown, Springfield have in common with areas north of the airport? seems really off to me.
Yeah, there is a big difference in some of these districts from the 7/25/11 proposal and what's in the TU today. It's starting to look more gerrymanded. Especially districts 8, 7 and 13.
Quote from: fsujax on August 16, 2011, 08:40:55 AM
Dont know that I like the way District 7 is drawn. What the heck does Downtown, Springfield have in common with areas north of the airport? seems really off to me.
Agreed. District 7, as drawn, is truly bizarre.
Be sure to watch for the public hearings Council must hold, and speak out about some of these strange lines.
The gerrymandering will likely only get worse, not better. More of the same.
Perhaps this is incorrect, but it seems to me that the basic idea of an area, a district, if you will, having a council person is to insure that area, like a historic district or a predominately poor area, is having it's specific needs properly represented in the government. If you equalize a district by social economic equality or make a district that combines the historic districts or urban areas with part of suburbia, are you not eliminating the chance of proper representation? Does not the needs of a urban area, for instance, sort of cancel out the needs of suburbia?
strider, your correct from what I have seen! My District is 13 which currently connects clear out to the Beaches! The current clown ran on a platform which consisted basically of "We need to represent the Beaches"! Little did he realize but the last 5 Council members all lived.......guess where.........THE BEACHES! Now Art did a pretty decent job, Meserve was a lost cause and not going to even give Dick Brown credit for much except parking his fanny in a council seat. District 13 deserved better than a warm body...........oh well, looking forward to what is presented to the Public for discussion!
yay...CS is back!
I had the same thought. Welcome back CS. Lets go to Robert's
Attend the Public Hearings and voice your displeasure (or pleasure, if you will) at the latest homage to gerrymandering. They start next Wednesday, and continue to the following Thursday, all at campuses of FSCJ:
Wednesday, Aug. 24 - North Campus, 4501 Capper Road, Room C126
Thursday, Aug. 25 - Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd., Room F128
Monday, Aug. 29 - South Campus, 11901 Beach Blvd., Wilson Center - The Arts Lakeside Conference Room
Thursday, Sept. 1 - Deerwood Center, 9911 Baymeadows Rd. - Room B1204
What do St. Nicholas and Pecan Park have in common? UNF and the Beaches? and so many more
Quote from: Noone on August 02, 2011, 04:25:27 AM
Time is running out. City charter deadline for plan adoption is Dec.1, 2011
2010-604- Shipyards/Landmar. Councilman Redman you are now chair of Waterways and in a position of legislative power to introduce legislation that would keep the Promised 680' Downtown Public Pier separate. Waterways Commission meeting in 8 days. The pier is in Dist.4 your current District. You have refused to return my phone calls and emails and that is your choice.
I believe in my heart that economic opportunity to our St. Johns River our American Heritage River will be greatly restricted and under total govt. control and your refusal to introduce legislation has led the conspiracy that extends beyond Duval county.
On the surface it looks good. Its the potential leaching underground that concerns me.
45 days out. One Jacksonville Waterways Commission meeting left. What will we be telling the Commissioners of FIND? The SJRA?
Anyone know if the Aug.15 revision was approved?
Welcome back, CS! I am particularly content to know that the Beaches and Baldwin are not lumped into the same district anymore. Talk about a long and winding road to a meeting at Ed White from Mayport!
When we we have the final Regis Philbin answer?
ENNIS?