The Florida Senate discussed adding another proposed amendment on redistricting to the November ballot on Wednesday -- with Amendment 7 looking to join Amendments 5 and 6 to face the voters judgment.
With the House passing a similar measure Monday, senators from both parties fought to have a proposed amendment mandating the state follow federal guidelines during redistricting at both the congressional and state levels.
There are two other proposed amendments on redistricting already on the ballot. Initiated by Fair Districts Florida, the amendments require legislators to ignore incumbent status or party to create geographically compact districts, following municipal boundaries and other established lines, when redrawing legislative districts at the congressional and state levels.
Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, who was reelected as chairman of the Florida Black Legislative Caucus this week, and incoming President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, led their measure through the amendment process. Dan Gelber, D-North Miami Beach, a supporter of the Fair Districts legislation, attempted to weaken their measure by adding amendments.
Armed with a collection of maps, Hardiopolos said the Fair Districts proposals were unrealistic. Cities are not exactly the most compact areas, he said. They are not nice little compact squares.
Gelber insisted that the Fair Districts proposals were manageable. Nothing in the Fair Districts amendments is new or novel, he said. The Fair Districts amendments present a fair template for minority communities and provide sanity in the redistricting process.
Democrats remain divided on which redistricting amendment would help minority communities. While most Democrats have supported the Fair Districts amendments, there have been some very prominent exceptions. U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-FL, who was on the floor of the House during a debate on redistricting on Monday, has taken an active role opposing the Fair Districts measures.
Siplin and Minority Leader Al Lawson of Tallahassee supported the amendment following federal guidelines and questioned whether the Fair Districts measures could protect minority representation. Lawson said that African-Americans lacked congressional representation in Florida from Reconstruction until 1992 and said the current way of redistricting ensured the gains made since then.
Proponents of the Fair Districts measures insisted that the current way of redistricting remains flawed, keeping incumbents in power. Weve created seats drawn by parties or incumbents to increase their goals, said Gelber.
Critics of the Fair Districts amendments maintain that previous redistricting measures have been supported and upheld by all branches of government.
To attack the current system is to say every level of government-executive, legislative and judicial is wrong, said Haridopolos.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.
