Senator Gary Siplin (D-Orlando) released the following statement in connection with a letter addressed to the Immediate Past President of the Florida NAACP, Leon Russell, regarding his public response to the introduction of Senate Joint Resolution 2288:
“It brings me great distress that the Florida NAACP elected to oppose SJR 2288 without first consulting members of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus. As the chosen representatives of the African American constituency of this State, it would have been fitting for the Conference to have first discussed its concerns regarding the resolution with those people who they elected to serve them in the Legislature – the Black Caucus. Your mischaracterization of this resolution as a “sham” has been exploited by the media and used as a mechanism to pit black leaders in this State against each other. It is worth noting that Senator Al Lawson, the longest serving member in the Legislature and the only member to serve during two reapportionments, supports and speaks favorably of this resolution. That fact alone carries great weight towards the credibility of the resolution.
“SJR 2288, of which I am co-sponsor, does not contravene minority voting rights. In fact, it recognizes the same criteria proposed in the Fair District amendments. More specifically, it clarifies the Legislature’s duty to apply federal law while balancing it with existing State standards and case law. It also expressly provides that the Legislature must consider the participation of communities of interest and racial and language minorities’ in the political process as well as their ability to elect candidates of their choice when establishing district boundaries – without being subject to other provisions of State law. Therefore, not only does the resolution incorporate the objectives of the Fair District amendments and the mandates of the Voting Rights Act, it also recognizes the existence of well-settled case law.
“My review of the proposals suggests that the amendments set forth by Fair Districts Florida do not do enough to create or preserve majority-minority and minority access districts within the State.”
