Politics
Census Data Blur Political Lines in Florida
Redistricting fights more likely along geographical, not party lines
Around the State
Florida’s population statistics from the 2010 U.S. Census were released late in the week, providing a clear picture of how complicated the redistricting process will be, and inserting greater intrigue into the 2012 campaign season.
There were 18.8 million residents in Florida as of April 2010, 2.8 million more than in 2000, the date of the last census.
Much of the population growth occurred in Central Florida, along the “I-4 corridor” which stretches from Tampa through Orlando and over to Daytona Beach and the Space Coast, and in Southwest Florida.
Florida’s population growth means it will add two congressional districts, adding to its already considerable political clout. Republican leaders in the Legislature are hoping to flaunt this by holding Florida’s presidential primary in late January 2012, against national Republican Party rules.
“Florida doesn’t grow neatly, it never has,” said veteran Florida political observer Ed Moore, Ph.D., CEO of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.
The Legislature, which is tasked with redrawing the congressional and legislative districts, won’t be adding any seats but will be affected nonetheless, as several districts have grown considerably while others experienced weak growth. The state’s haphazard growth means district boundaries must change significantly to accommodate an even distribution of constituents in each district.
For the Florida Senate, that means each of its 40 members should have 470,033 citizens in their districts. Senate District 20, which encompasses most of Lake County and parts of Sumter, Marion, Volusia and Seminole counties, and is currently represented by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, is the most out of sync with the ideal number, with 576,207 people in the district.
Senate District 13, which covers half of Pinellas County and is represented by Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, will need to be enlarged after experiencing a population decrease. It holds 394,766 people, 4,797 less than in 2000.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, who chairs the Senate Reapportionment Committee, has promised a fair and open process, with several public hearings throughout the state this summer, ahead of the 2012 legislative session, which begins early in January to incorporate the redistricting process.
“My instruction from (Senate) President Mike Haridopolos is to engage in the most transparent, open, and interactive redistricting process in America,” Gaetz said.
While the Senate Reapportionment Committee has already held meetings in preparation of the 2010 Census data being released, the House Reapportionment Committee has yet to announce its members.
The committee’s chairman, Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said early Thursday that committee members will be announced soon, but did not specify when, saying only that the committee will hold meetings before the end of the 2011 legislative session.
“The plan is to have a committee formed very shortly,” Weatherford said.
Weatherford’s House District 61 also happens to be an area that will be greatly affected by the redistricting process. The Western Central Florida district has 242,396 people in its boundaries, nearly 55 percent more than the target for even distribution. Only Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando, in House District 41 has more people in his district.
Despite the weakened position of Democrats in the Legislature with a superminority in both chambers, party leaders say they expect to have a large influence on the redistricting process.
Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, who was recently elected as the next Democratic Party leader in the House after the 2012 elections, is leading his party’s negotiations over membership on the House Reapportionment Committee. He wants an even number of Democrats to Republicans on the committee, even though the GOP outnumbers the Democrats 81 to 39 in the House.
“I think for something as important as redistricting, we should keep the numbers as close to even as we can. I feel if they have eight, we should have eight,” Thurston said.
Thurston’s district is also likely to be altered in the redistricting process. His House District 93 is 23,491 residents short of the ideal number of 156,678 citizens per house district.
The political fights over redistricting, however, aren’t likely to fall along traditional party lines. Republicans already have supermajorities in both houses, and will be hard-pressed to find a set of boundaries that will enable them to increase their lead.
Instead, the bickering will be conducted along geographical lines, as politicians in Southwest and Central Florida with newfound clout in the form of a surplus of citizens will squabble over lines with their counterparts in South Florida, where growth rates over the last decade were more stagnant.
Florida’s awkward geographic boundaries combine with its uneven growth to frustrate lawmakers looking to abide by Amendments 5 and 6, voted into the state Constitution in 2010, which stipulate that districts must be contiguous, compact, and not be drawn to “favor or disfavor” incumbents or racial or language minorities.
“Florida is not a compact and neatly designed state geographically. We’re not designed that way. It exacerbates the current situation,” Moore said of the amendments.
Still, legislators are confident they can match the ideal of the amendments in the law with the demographic realities of the state.
“Whether it makes it more complicated or not, it’s the law and we’re going to follow it,” Weatherford said.
Reach Gray Rohrer at groher@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
There were 18.8 million residents in Florida as of April 2010, 2.8 million more than in 2000, the date of the last census.
Much of the population growth occurred in Central Florida, along the “I-4 corridor” which stretches from Tampa through Orlando and over to Daytona Beach and the Space Coast, and in Southwest Florida.
Florida’s population growth means it will add two congressional districts, adding to its already considerable political clout. Republican leaders in the Legislature are hoping to flaunt this by holding Florida’s presidential primary in late January 2012, against national Republican Party rules.
“Florida doesn’t grow neatly, it never has,” said veteran Florida political observer Ed Moore, Ph.D., CEO of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida.
The Legislature, which is tasked with redrawing the congressional and legislative districts, won’t be adding any seats but will be affected nonetheless, as several districts have grown considerably while others experienced weak growth. The state’s haphazard growth means district boundaries must change significantly to accommodate an even distribution of constituents in each district.
For the Florida Senate, that means each of its 40 members should have 470,033 citizens in their districts. Senate District 20, which encompasses most of Lake County and parts of Sumter, Marion, Volusia and Seminole counties, and is currently represented by Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, is the most out of sync with the ideal number, with 576,207 people in the district.
Senate District 13, which covers half of Pinellas County and is represented by Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, will need to be enlarged after experiencing a population decrease. It holds 394,766 people, 4,797 less than in 2000.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, who chairs the Senate Reapportionment Committee, has promised a fair and open process, with several public hearings throughout the state this summer, ahead of the 2012 legislative session, which begins early in January to incorporate the redistricting process.
“My instruction from (Senate) President Mike Haridopolos is to engage in the most transparent, open, and interactive redistricting process in America,” Gaetz said.
While the Senate Reapportionment Committee has already held meetings in preparation of the 2010 Census data being released, the House Reapportionment Committee has yet to announce its members.
The committee’s chairman, Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said early Thursday that committee members will be announced soon, but did not specify when, saying only that the committee will hold meetings before the end of the 2011 legislative session.
“The plan is to have a committee formed very shortly,” Weatherford said.
Weatherford’s House District 61 also happens to be an area that will be greatly affected by the redistricting process. The Western Central Florida district has 242,396 people in its boundaries, nearly 55 percent more than the target for even distribution. Only Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando, in House District 41 has more people in his district.
Despite the weakened position of Democrats in the Legislature with a superminority in both chambers, party leaders say they expect to have a large influence on the redistricting process.
Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, who was recently elected as the next Democratic Party leader in the House after the 2012 elections, is leading his party’s negotiations over membership on the House Reapportionment Committee. He wants an even number of Democrats to Republicans on the committee, even though the GOP outnumbers the Democrats 81 to 39 in the House.
“I think for something as important as redistricting, we should keep the numbers as close to even as we can. I feel if they have eight, we should have eight,” Thurston said.
Thurston’s district is also likely to be altered in the redistricting process. His House District 93 is 23,491 residents short of the ideal number of 156,678 citizens per house district.
The political fights over redistricting, however, aren’t likely to fall along traditional party lines. Republicans already have supermajorities in both houses, and will be hard-pressed to find a set of boundaries that will enable them to increase their lead.
Instead, the bickering will be conducted along geographical lines, as politicians in Southwest and Central Florida with newfound clout in the form of a surplus of citizens will squabble over lines with their counterparts in South Florida, where growth rates over the last decade were more stagnant.
Florida’s awkward geographic boundaries combine with its uneven growth to frustrate lawmakers looking to abide by Amendments 5 and 6, voted into the state Constitution in 2010, which stipulate that districts must be contiguous, compact, and not be drawn to “favor or disfavor” incumbents or racial or language minorities.
“Florida is not a compact and neatly designed state geographically. We’re not designed that way. It exacerbates the current situation,” Moore said of the amendments.
Still, legislators are confident they can match the ideal of the amendments in the law with the demographic realities of the state.
“Whether it makes it more complicated or not, it’s the law and we’re going to follow it,” Weatherford said.
Reach Gray Rohrer at groher@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
Comments (3)
We must organize with everybody who have the same opinions as the TEA PARTY on halting illegal immigration. We just cannot afford to support the world anymore; how can we support the poor of other countries, when we don't aid our own below the bread line? The only people who will gain advantage from out-of-control illegal immigrant occupation, is business of every type. Millions more customers bring enormous profits and wealth to the owners, who the majority don't live in congested neighborhoods. Only the relentless Tea Party politicians can save America from overpopulation?
That fact is we could accomplishes huge savings if illegal aliens and instant citizenship offspring were cut-off from all welfare benefits and States such as the Sanctuary State of California, would not be crippled by a 26 billion dollar deficit, partially caused by education, health care and the overcrowded jail and prisons from the settlement of illegal foreigners. Our cities infrastructure are crumbling, including highways, bridges, tunnels, with the constant effect of overcrowding. Beneath the ground is a 50 year of danger of leaking sewerage pipes, electric wiring and water supplies.They are not the only State burdened by massive loses to their general funds, being siphoned off by illegal immigrant entitlements.
Consider a future if we don't seal our borders, stop tourist visa over- stayers, enforce immigration laws by using ATTRITION as the main deterrent. Make our politicians enact E-Verify as a permanent law to reduce the illegal influx of foreigners. Mandate the use of Secure Communities for every police force throughout America, backed by the federal 287 (g) policies to fingerprint and identify every individual in (ICE) databases, so that all criminals can be handed over to the Immigration and Customs Service for deportation. Further our chances of ignorant businesses hiring cheap labor, when our own citizens-residents cannot get jobs, by joining the Tea PARTY. They will stop the Tax and Spend Liberals, reduce government, return jobs to bona fide Americans and halt the illegal immigration invasion, that is overwhelming every community and bringing even more poverty to America.
Attention: General Electric paid no taxes whatsoever last fiscal year. The Tax code needs to be reinvented, so everybody pays their fair share. In the last election the State Attorney Generals of New Mexico, New York, Texas and New Jersey stated illegal aliens voted in the prior election. My opinion is these people are compromising the vote in California and Nevada as well, because of the massive populations of foreign nationals. Illegal aliens will and do vote using forged Absentee Ballots and fake ID to sign in to register at polling stations.
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