Redistricting 2012 - March 2012

Every ten years, our Florida State Legislature, Broward County Commission, and many of our local cities and towns are required to redraw the voting districts of our U.S. Senators, Congressmen, State Senators, State Legislators, County Commissioners, and local Councilmen and Commissioners based on new census data.

And every ten years, the process turns into a big political fight since both the Democrats and Republicans desire to maximize the potential for elected officials from their parties. Even in local non-partisan races, politics always comes into play as Davie’s two Mayoral candidates for their March 13th election can tell you.

Making matters even messier, Florida voters passed not one but two amendments to our state’s constitution in 2010 requiring that each district be properly identified based on population patterns, communities of interest, and similar criteria and not based on political party or incumbency. At the same time, Florida is still one of a handful of states subject to federal voting rights review for federal offices because of past issues with minority voting rights. Of course the leading proponents for those two amendments were Democratic based organizations and loyalists because they have lost their majorities in both the Florida House and Senate and in Congress. Their goal now is to get back into power by supposedly forcing the Republicans to design districts more beneficial to Democratic candidates.

Tell that to State Representative Martin Kiar of Davie who had initially planned to run for the Florida Senate seat being vacated by Nan Rich of Weston. He got so confused and concerned about the changes and challenges that he decided to run for the Broward County Commission. But even his decision was tinged with intrigue as a local political website reported that County Commissioners allegedly tweaked a Commission district just so Kiar could be included in it.

And Kiar’s current State House district is changing so much that the citizens of Weston and parts of Davie will most likely now be tied into a district which includes Miramar rather than a district which currently goes north to Parkland. I am amazed to watch several potential candidates raising money to run for this seat without even knowing if their donors will ultimately be constituents. In fact 38 of the state’s 120 House districts have been redrawn and may now pit incumbent against incumbent from formerly surrounding districts.

The federal congressional seat battle is even more entertaining as you watch Democratic groups accusing Republicans of gerrymandering to protect their Congressional majority although renowned Republican Congressman Alan West’s district was changed dramatically and actually favors a Democrat now. Tell that to such liberal groups such as Common Cause, the Council of La Raza and even the League of Women Voters. "The Legislature’s Congressional Plan is filled with unconstitutional political gerrymanders intended to favor one political party and certain incumbents, while disfavoring the other political party and other incumbents,’’ wrote lawyers for those groups in a preface to a lawsuit they have filed. Redistricting Chairman Florida Senator Don Gaetz said he expected the legal challenges. "We have people who all along had a lawsuit strategy and hoped that they could find some judge somewhere who will agree with their contentions,’’ Gaetz told reporters. "The sad part is now the taxpayers of Florida have to be dragged into court by special interest groups who always intended to be dissatisfied."

But Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown of Jacksonville thinks no lawsuits are needed and is among prominent Democrats in the Congress and in the State House and Senate who are happy with the proposed district maps. "I'm not saying it's not a problem” she told the Tampa Bay Times while knocking Democrats for fielding weak candidates around the state and having a weak ground game.

As for Allen West, he has chosen to run for a Congressional seat just north of his current district. Some call his move cowardly but that is up to the voters in his new district to decide. Unfortunately Weston-based Congressman Debbie Wasserman Schultz will again be in a safe district although a number of Republicans are running in a primary to have the opportunity to challenge her in November. She will be a tough cookie to be beat as I learned in 2002 when I ran against Debbie for a Florida Senate seat. Thankfully however she continues to put her foot in her mouth so often as the head of the Democratic National Committee that she may cause President Obama to join the unemployment line in November.