Redrawn House districts approved

A GOP leader's revision of three districts appeases U.S. judges. November's elections will be based on the result.

By STEVE BOUSQUET, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 10, 2002

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's legislative districts are finally set for this fall's elections.

A panel of three federal judges late Tuesday approved a change to state House districts proposed by House Speaker Tom Feeney. The change adjusts the boundaries of three districts in southwest Florida and shifts about 9,000 Collier County Hispanics to solidly Republican House District 112 to address the Justice Department's demand for a Collier-based Hispanic seat.

The judges' decision means the Legislature will not have to hold a special session to redraw the districts. That is a victory for Republicans, who wanted to avoid a potentially divisive return to the state Capitol, and it removes any serious concerns about whether the district boundaries would be clear before legislative candidates start formally qualifying for the ballot the week of July 22.

The changes aren't necessarily permanent.

The panel's order approves the changes to the state House districts only for the 2002 elections. The Legislature will have to make the alterations permanent when it meets to reorganize after the November election.

But for Republican legislators, the ruling was everything they wanted and a loss for Democrats.

"At this point, the plaintiffs will stop wasting the taxpayers' money with frivolous lawsuits," said Miguel De Grandy, the lead House lawyer in the case. "This vindicates the Legislature's position."

The lead lawyer for the Democrats, who argued that the GOP-led Legislature should be forced to redraw several black districts, expressed disappointment.

"We think the evidence proved our case," said Thomasina Williams. "The court disagreed."

Although the Democrats could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Tuesday night's ruling by the three-judge panel appears to be the last major legal hurdle in the once-a-decade battle over redistricting. Once every 10 years, the Legislature redraws legislative and congressional districts to reflect changes in the population detailed in the new U.S. Census.

Ten days ago, the U.S. Department of Justice ruled that the new map of state House districts had to be redone because it violated the rights of Hispanics in Collier County.

House District 101 connected eastern Collier with part of southwest Broward. It was overwhelmingly Republican, but Justice officials said it violated the Voting Rights Act by diminishing the ability of Collier Hispanics to elect a Hispanic candidate at a time when that area's population has become considerably more Hispanic.

Justice officials said the district effectively replaced District 102, which linked part of Collier to a largely Hispanic area of Miami-Dade County. But in the new district, the Hispanic population would have been reduced from 73 percent to 30 percent.

Democrats, who had hoped to force the Legislature into a special session, wanted the federal judges to conclude that the ability of blacks to elect black candidates in four Miami-Dade districts had been illegally diluted. The judicial panel rejected the Democrats' claims.

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