Time is winding down on the county redistricting process, as the Orange County Redistricting Advisory Committee (RAC) met at the Supervisor of Elections Office in downtown Orlando last night.
The RAC’s last meeting will be September 28th and the Committee will decide which map or how many proposals they will submit to the Orange County Commission.
During last night’s session the group introduced and reviewed three new proposals for consideration and withdrew four previous map suggestions, in an effort to cut down the number of maps the Committee will have to consider.
But, while there were logistical concerns amongst the Committee toward the end of the meeting, there were plenty of racial and discrimination worries from representatives of the Hispanic, Puerto Rican, and African-American communities.
There is still apprehension that the Committee has no common interest in servicing the needs or wants of the minority community. Hispanic community advocate Trini Quiroz said at last night’s meeting that the Hispanic community “is not to be played with” and that the “rights of the people have to be represented.”
Some of the public’s ire came after Committee member Jose Fernandez submitted proposal 12, a map that splits the Hispanic community up across all six districts instead of one.
Mr. Fernandez’s argument is that the Hispanic community is best served with influence in all six districts, instead of being concentrated in one.
As regards district 6, which leans heavily toward the African-American community, some within the district feel that there is growth opportunity north of Silver Star road but the committee has refused to explore that chance.
One resident of district 6 showed his feelings when commenting on the lack of growth opportunities seen on the proposed maps for his district. He asked quite pointedly if racism was on its way back, as it seemed the committee is trying to keep African-Americans contained in one district.
With allegations of racism, disenfranchisement, and discrimination rife throughout the meeting, RAC Chairman Derek Bruce finally decided to address the pink elephant in the room. He asked that the public refrain from accusing the Committee or any member of the Committee of racism, as it is counter-productive to the entire process.
One thing is clear, the public has a particular passion regarding their community’s interest in redistricting.
For more information regarding meeting times and places, maps, and memos please visit www.ocfl.net/rac.
-JH
