JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For about 90 minutes on Friday, Jacksonville city leaders met in private to discuss litigation strategies after a federal judge ordered them to throw out newly drawn district lines and come up with a new map.
Plaintiffs, including voters and local chapters of the NAACP and ACLU, alleged the maps are unconstitutionally gerrymandered by race and diminish the voices of Black voters. The judge found there was “a compelling case that race was the predominant factor in the drawing of the Challenged Districts,” and that the shape of the districts was “dictated by race.”
City Council President Terrance Freeman called for the special meeting. He issued a statement shortly after 5 p.m. Friday:
“The Council disagrees with the outcome of the Court order. Therefore, we have directed the Office of General Counsel to appeal the decision. While we await the appeal, the Council will begin a new redistricting process immediately given the court order and the short window established by the District Court.”
🔒 Insider Interactive: See how Jacksonville’s districts would change under City Council’s most recent map
We spoke Jerry Holland, the former supervisor of elections, who said the council was doing what it saw was done in the past, making sure minorities could get elected to the council.
“But there comes a point when the percentage is too high. And when you have too many minorities in a district, it means you really, if you’re going out and reaching out into other districts, it means that you’re taking away the opportunities that maybe minorities could get elected in another district,” Holland said.
Holland said the newly-drawn lines are similar to what they were when he was supervisor of elections in 2011, and no one challenged them at the time.
The judge’s order mentions that during the public hearings for the new district lines, members of the public repeatedly complained about racial packing and gerrymandering.
The shade meeting Friday was recorded, and we’re told a transcript will only become public record once the court proceedings end, which will be awhile.
We tried asking a City Council member for comment, but we were told they were instructed not to do so.
Ben Frazier, leader of the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville — which was a plaintiff in the original lawsuit — shared a statement that reads:
“City officials have no business wasting thousands of taxpayer dollars to go back to court to fight their own constituents. They should just start all over again and come up a fair plan! How much has the city wasted in legal fees already? It’s sad but they will probably waste even more taxpayer dollars just to fight taxpayers on city council redistricting. But in the end “We the people” will win! We are disappointed in the city council’s decision to appeal this thorough, well-reasoned court order. The federal court was clear: the city council’s mapmaking was the product of intentional racial gerrymandering. It’s the city’s duty to draw legal map that affords all Jacksonville residents equal representation. If they abdicate that duty, we will continue working with the court to ensure Jaxsons have a fair map for the 2023 elections.”