Editorial: Dividing up fairness

Editorial Board
Daytona Beach News Journal
Nov 30, 2009

Better districts mean better representation

You live in Daytona Beach near the mall. Your state senator, John Thrasher, lives in Jacksonville. One of your co-workers lives a few miles away in Holly Hill. Her state senator, Tony Hill, also lives in Jacksonville.

A third co-worker lives in Ormond Beach. So does Evelyn Lynn, his state senator.

Which lawmaker is more likely to take your concerns seriously?

The three senators would probably argue that they do their best for all their constituents. But realistically, that often doesn't happen, especially with districts like Thrasher's (District 8), which starts at the state line north of Fernandina Beach and takes in all of the coast to Flagler Beach, where it jogs inland to embrace the Daytona International Speedway. Hill's (District 1) runs adjacent to Thrasher's for much of its length.

The district lines for the state Legislature -- particularly the Senate -- and Florida's Congressional seats make no sense, except to the lawmakers who drew them in 2002. Take the state Senate map. It was drawn to maximize GOP control of the Legislature's upper chamber, giving Republicans an electoral advantage in 26 of the 40 districts.

Often, districts were clearly drawn to suit powerful incumbents -- such as former House speaker Tom Feeney, who carved out a new congressional district that was lopsidedly Republican and embraced most of his power base in Orange, Seminole and southeast Volusia counties. Or the late Sen. Jim King -- Thrasher's predecessor -- who finagled a district that stretched down to include the speedway. Other districts, such as Hill's, were designed to ensure minority representation, but also used to "pack" as many Democrats as possible into one district to dilute their voting power in other areas.

But don't blame Republicans. For decades, Democrats did exactly the same thing, crafting lines that secured the party's dominance of the state Legislature through the early 1990s. In the early days of Florida government, district lines also helped consolidate power in sparsely populated north Florida at the expense of central and southern regions.
Next year's census will kick off another round of redistricting in 2012. This time, things could be different.

For the past two years, a group called Fair Districts Florida has been collecting signatures on a pair of proposed constitutional amendments that would force more regularly shaped, compact districts. The amendments would ban districting plans drawn to favor incumbents or political parties and encourage the creation of districts that are compact and, when possible, follow county and city boundaries.

It's hard to say how the amendments would affect the redistricting process. But it seems almost certain that districts like the ones held by Thrasher and Hill -- which are more than 120 miles long but only a few miles wide in spots -- would be outlawed.

To put the issues on the 2010 ballot, Fair Districts Florida needs to collect 676,811 signatures on each petition. They've collected around 1.6 million between the two petitions, says Ellen Friedin, the Miami attorney who is chairman of the campaign.

Friedin stresses that Florida would still be subject to the federal Voting Rights Act, which ensures racial minorities the opportunity to elect representatives. She believes that the proposed amendments could actually help minorities, by forcing legislators to draw lines that don't split communities.

The proposed amendments still face heavy opposition. Many legislators are outraged at proposals that would strip them of the ability to rig districts to benefit parties or individuals. Some black and Hispanic lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown (whose notoriously gerrymandered district is also anchored in Jacksonville but stretches down to include part of Daytona Beach) are also objecting, and are likely to try to mobilize minority voters against the proposals.

But fairer districts can only be good for Florida. Here's hoping the voters see through the distractions, and vote to protect their interests.

© 2009 News-Journal Corporation