Colonial High School was the sight of the Orange County Redistricting Advisory Committee’s second public hearing regarding how county commission lines should be drawn.
District 3 Commissioner Lui Damiani was in attendance as residents of his district gathered to hear about map proposals from the committee and also present public map suggestions to the board.
Over 50 residents were in attendance for the two and a half hour session that included the robust exchange of ideas between the committee and the public, a little contention between residents, and a new public map proposal that creates a majority minority district for Hispanics.
Committee member Bertica Cabrer-Morris, who lives in district 5, has concerns with the public map proposals that have been presented.
“The public needs to come out with maps that are worthwhile to look at. Don’t come out with maps that are so outrageous that nobody can discuss,” said Ms. Cabrera-Morris.
So far there is only one public proposal before the committee, which is public proposal B. This map suggestion was submitted by former Orange County Democratic Party Chair and long time Orlando resident Doug Head and Center for Advocacy member Trini Quiroz.
Mr. Quiroz, a strong advocate for a new Hispanic district within Orange County, is worried that the committee’s legal council, assistant county attorney Whitney Evers, is misrepresenting the interests of Hispanic residents with her legal opinion regarding public proposal A, which was the first map suggestion from the public that creates a Hispanic majority/minority in district 3.
“She accused my proposal of trying to influence the commissioners that sit on that RAC (Redistricting Advisory Committee) to dismiss it as if it was nothing,” said Quiroz. “I find it reprehensible that someone that is paid by our tax money to advise the redistricting committee properly takes the liberty to put her two cents in…” she continued.
This hearing was also marked by contention. In addition to the vigorous amount of public participation there also seemed to be tension amongst some of the Hispanic residents in attendance toward the committee.
There seems to be a lack of interest in turning district 3 into a majority/minority district for Hispanics and the city’s Hispanic residents find that insulting. According to the 2010 United States Census persons of Hispanic or Latino origin represent 27 percent of the county’s population. That’s a seven percent population advantage over the African-American community, who has a majority/minority district in district 6.
In the end it’s up to the public to let the committee know how important these hearings are to the formation of politically fair districts. The Hispanic community has a right to want their interests represented on the Orange County Commission as well how the district lines are drawn. Orange County government must do a better public relations job informing the general public about these hearings and how important they are to the formation of fair districts.
Zoraida Rios-Andino represents United Front 436, the organization responsible for pontificating the ire of local Puerto Ricans due to there being no Puerto Ricans on the advisory committee.
“The Puerto Rican community makes up a quarter of the population in this county, we pay millions of dollars in taxes, we’ve brought every type of business that you can think of and we feel that as a community we have a right to sit at the table and make the decisions on where our money is going to go and be allocated in the community,” said Rios-Andino.
The next RAC public hearing will be held in district 5 at the Homebuilders Association on Wednesday, July 27th from 6pm – 8:30pm.
To find more information about the Orange County Redistricting Committee and the full schedule of public hearings please visit www.ocfl.net/rac.
-JH
