Breaking News - City Council to vote on GERRYMANDERED redistricting map September 29th at 6pm.

[Debbie G]

Link to the gerrymandered districts that will be in place for the next 10 years. Speak now or forever hold your peace. Redistricting Map   Should you decide to speak up, here is the link to the city council members. Link to Council Phone Numbers

[Patricia M. McBride]

Well, then John, I guess what happens is we see what happens tonight and if they approve this racial divide and politically motivated redistrict, we will and must start a petition for compact districts in the city?  I don't know how many signatures it takes, but I would think we need to hit all areas of town and get enough signatures to get it on the ballot.  I don't know that we can make it retroactive, but we can fix it so this doesn't happen again and let's hope someone doesn't decide to do the people of our city in by adding something to the charter.  I also think someone needs to take a serious look at some of what has been put in the charter via J bills, and think about referendums to get them removed if that is possible?

[John H. Libby]

Patricia, Not one black resident has shown up at the public hearings to support Ms. Lee or Mr. Jones.  Our fellow Americans, who happen to be black, are of the same opinion as the Tea Party members.  Neighborhood integrity is more important than having a representative of the same race.  It has been a wonderful thing to witness in the public hearings.  Republican, Democrat, Independent, NPA, Moveon.org, Tea Party, Black, White and Hispanics have been united on the issue of redistricting.  The obstacle has been incumbents trying to protect themselves and their turf, even when they can't run again.  Jones and Lee are not the only Council members who oppose Matt's plan, which is why he can't get the votes to move it forward for consideration. 

[Patricia M. McBride]

John, Matt Shellenberg took your advise.  The planning board did draw the plan he requested with compact districts.  It is a beauty and the planning board did a wonderful job, and yet, one Jones and Lee both oppose the plan.

 

I might say this, the tea party is at all times harrassed about being racist, but it is not we who are racist.  It is those who wish to further separate people by the color of their skin instead of combining communites where all residents in those communites work towards common causes and on common issues in their communities.  

 

I no longer think the arguments set forward by Mr. Jones and Ms Lee are valid since we have a black mayor who could not have been elected solely by the black districts (many other non blacks voted for him).  We also have other black representatives (and other minority classes) in our state and nation wide who ran for the house (and senate seats) and were elected because they spoke to the concerns of the people they wished to represent.  It is time for our city council members to work to get elected and not use the color of their skin as a free pass and that is what this move to segregate the black population away from the other residents for the purpose of getting their vote based on skin color.  And shame on the black families in those districts for allowing themselves to be used! 

[John H. Libby]

The final decision will rest with the SCOTUS as to how our districts are drawn.  There are a number of lawsuits that have been filed in almost every State that has completed redistricting.  The key issue inevitably comes down to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and how the Courts have interpreted it over the decades.  If you look at the plan which I believe the City Council will adopt, you will see that every incumbent City Council member and School Board Member has their own district, irregardless of whether they are term-limited out or not.  By doing this the districts are less compact than they could be.

In 1982, the Council and the Planning Department were at an impasse, so I submitted two plans one of which was adopted by the Council. The cost to the taxpayers was ZERO.  They wouldn't even reimburse my personal costs of $200 to prepare the plans.  In 1992, the City hired a firm to do the plan.  They ended up charging the City twice what they had bid, the cost was around $400,000.  In 2001 they once again hired a firm to do the work.  I have been told it ended up costing the City over $800,000, triple their budget. 

Last year I went to the first meeting on redistricting and made two recommendations: 1) Put Mayport in the Beaches district.  2) Use the Planning Department to draw the plan.  Then Council President Jack Webb and Rules Committee Chairwoman Denise Lee agreed.  It is estimated that the cost will come in at around $80,000 this time.

While the plan Matt had the Planning Department prepare is the best plan submitted, it has one major flaw which Mike Yost and I have pointed out.  It reduces the minority majority districts from four to three.  Until the SCOTUS says otherwise, it is essential that this consideration is included in whatever plan is adopted. 

The issue of protecting incumbents however is quite different.  Because the Schellenberg does not do this it is far more compact and neighborhoods are not split.  Matt has shown a great deal of courage to bring this issue to the forefront.  Hopefully the Courts will agree in principal that race is not the issue it was in 1965 and We the People and our great Nation can move beyond this.

[CJ]

Heres mine for tonight

When I saw the proposed map on Tuesday night by Mr. Schellenberg that accomplished everything that was required with fair compact districts I was amazed and impressed.

 

Then highly discouraged when Council voted the possibility down.

 

Then I see another map that is meant to accomplish the same thing but is no where in comparison to being successful at alleviating the segregation the City continues to have. Segregation evident not only in the existing boundaries but obvious in the school populations. This is an injustice to the community and a disgrace to the City that is meant to be as one. The constant shameful black cloud that hovers over this city perpetuates with designs like this meant to keep generations of people down and unrepresented.

 

What is even more disgraceful and despicable is the rant by one of our representatives during Tuesday nights council meeting who offered no practical solution of their own but said someone elses attempt to stop the obvious gerrymandering was garbage. Where as the only garbage from the 10 hour night was that which came out of his mouth. This map that screams of Corrine Brown gerrymandering design ladies and gentlemen that truly is garbage and fails at the mission assigned and truly perpetuates segregation which we should be having none of!

 

Is not this Council and the city sick and tired of lines drawn that further put this city under a black cloud of separation? Are those that protest the map of another such cowards and so shallow in the content of their character they fear to stand on it alone? and instead feign a sort of disenfranchisement for no other reason but to further a more personal cause?

 

Actions like this embarrass this city and those responsible should be removed from the honor of serving this community

 

[Pam Pavlick]

I'm for anything Denise Lee opposes.

[Michael "Mike" Yost]

GOOD for you Pat. We DO agree totally!

This is EXACTLY why we MUST get more involved in the TOTAL process of governance.

 

Jefferson once wrote: "We are not a nation governed by the majority, but by the majority that PARTICIPATES".

 

Truer words were never spoken and NEEDED more than today.

[Patricia M. McBride]

For what little good it will do, Mike, I said I was against the race and politics divisions.  Please understand I thank these folks in pretty much every thing from comments in front of the council to letters as they work many long hours and are paid for what is touted as a part time job.  We may not always agree with them, but they put a great deal of effort into what they do, ask relevant questions of those trying to score tax payer money and research pretty much everything.:

 

To the Honorable City Council Men and Women,

On September 27, 2012 while attending the city council meeting, I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to see a re-districting map presented by Councilman Matt Schellenberg, and I was very impressed. I very much favor this redistricting plan as it puts the focus where it really needs to be and that is the community people live in. It might go a long way towards people working as a unit to address problems within their respective communities, and I was hoping you would consider this plan.

I understand that is not going to happen as the map that has been included with your notice is the one that cuts the city into strips and carves it up in such a way that the community focus is all but obliterated. Even Arlington will not longer be all Arlington but reach up and nip a small section from north of the river into the district even though I am sure their issues may not be Arlington issues.

I tried as hard as I could to think of something nice I could say about this plan attached to the notice, but I can't after seeing the nice compact districts map from last night and the thought of the community focus aspect. I understand elected officials do look at other aspects from both a legal and a political stance, and so, for another 10 years it looks like we will have districts based on race and politics instead of communities and community issues. Too bad.

Again, I do thank you all for your efforts (there is not enough I can say about how proud I am to have each of you as our Jacksonville representatives and the extra effort you make on everything), and I most especially thank Councilman Shellenberg for his efforts.

Kind regards,

[Michael "Mike" Yost]

One of the key reasons we are in a divided nation and divided City is that we allow the gerrymandering of our Districts- City, County, State, and Congressional. This isolates whatever group is in the minority in that District- be it white, Black, Hispanic, or whatever. Those groups never really feel "represented" and their voice has no weight in the process. It only means that whoever has the right "Letter" after their name and wins the Primary is your next elected official. All one must do then is "court" the block of voters needed to win and you never have open, honest, and free debate on the issues to appeal to the widest group of voters. You are NOT afforded the luxury of having to appeal to only the majority block of voters and meet their needs when you eliminate gerrymandering, minority created Districts, and opportunities to do this.

 

Sure, we ALL want Districts that creates the greatest opportunity for our own world to benefit from our government. That is human nature. However, we are at a point in our nation's history where we MUST find common ground to unite this nation, not further divide it. We can ONLY do that with our political system when we INSIST on Districts that represents and entire hodge-podge of voters within that District where opposing views are debated and discussed OPENLY. THEN the people get to determine who DOES best represent WE THE PEOPLE and elect them accordingly.  THAT eliminates the agenda driven politics we have NOW and gives REAL opportunities for EVERYONE to find those common ground ideas that work for the benefit of ALL that they represent. THAT cuts down heavily on special treatment of one group over the other, corruption by giving special favors to one over an other because it benefits those in power to do so, AND makes lawmakers ACCOUNTABLE to US, not the special interests who can't cast a vote.

 

Wouldn't it be WONDERFUL if we FORCED our lawmakers to actually have to sit down, discuss, debate- even heatedly, and FIND COMMON GROUND for agreement!! End the gerrymandering and you do that. THAT is true, representative government and virtually ENDS the "do me a favor" politics we are now experiencing. Then ALL the D's, R's, I's, Libertarians, or whatever MUST come together and face the reality of the VOTERS deciding if indeed THEY want YOU to be their Representative. THEN we are electing STATESMEN/WOMEN and not "politicians".

[Patricia M. McBride]

You know CJ, I get really sick of people who are will to criticize but have no plan (only talk down the work of others). If Councilman Jones doesn't like Matt Shellenberg's plan (which is truly awesome), then where is his plan???? And you know I think dividing our city up based on race, and politics is getting old. We don't put communities together so they focus on the issues in the community (like schools), we divide everything up based on race which is divisive (sound like anyone else you know). When exactly is it that we get over doing this. It should be pretty obvious at this point that a black person can win an election without gerrymandering if he has the platform that appeals to the people in the district. There are so many examples of that including Allen West (who is a phenomenal). WHEN ARE THOSE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND OUR BLACK CITY COUNCIL PEOPLE GOING TO GET OVER THIS RACIST STUFF???? Why would anyone waste all day every day waiting for an opportunity to bring this up yet again. Do they not understand that keeping the focus on that in their communities and telling their constituencies that it is an issue only perpetuates it and keeps us from working on what is important and that is education, education, education! Communities need to come together not be split apart.