a1677: For fairer community representation (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted April 15, 2002

Miami Herald, Opinion Pages


COURTENAY STRICKLAND
For fairer community representation

A Miami-Dade County Commission committee tomorrow will consider the ballot
questions to be put before voters in November. The questions concern changes
to Miami-Dade's charter, the document that ''governs government'' in our
county.

One proposal is to add two seats to the 13-member commission to provide fair
representation to the Haitian-American community and all of Miami-Dade's
major communities of interest.

The sensitivity surrounding this proposal goes deeper than the disruption
involved in any redistricting process. The question touches on the old
American debate about whether we're a melting pot or a salad -- and, if we
had the choice, which would we rather be. The fact is that we probably
always will be a little bit of both, with the various components of each
changing as new immigrant communities arrive and already-established ones
develop.

The county charter should incorporate into the government enough flexibility
to accommodate all the variations that may exist as the community grows.
When there's no more room for flexibility, it is time to make a change.
Under our form of representative democracy, no changes are more important
than taking steps needed to ensure the vote -- the voice -- for all.

Thirteen commission districts no longer provide enough space to accommodate
all our major communities. The debate over the place of Haitian Americans is
evidence that this community stands alone. For now, Haitian Americans
maintain their own linguistic and cultural characteristics, which define
them as a separate community of interest.

Recognizing the need for fair representation, many other counties and cities
have legislative bodies as big or bigger than ours. With a 2.2 million
population, Miami-Dade is larger than 16 states. The city of Jacksonville
and Duval County, with a 730,000 population, are represented by 19 council
members, excluding the mayor. A 17-member council represents Philadelphians,
and the Metropolitan Council of Nashville & Davidson County, Tenn.,
comprises 40 members.

The viability of a fair 15-district plan here is illustrated by maps drawn
on behalf of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition by the Southern
Regional Council in Atlanta. Using data from the latest census, the maps
take into account principles of redistricting, including compactness,
contiguity, incumbency, compliance with the Voting Rights Act and
preservation of communities of interest. The maps show that it is possible
to have a plan that allows the Haitian-American community to elect a
representative of its choice, while still preserving the seats of current
commissioners and the gains made by other minority communities over many
years.

A voter-approved charter change would help make fair representation for all
a reality. While the city of North Miami's lawsuit (Joe Celestin, et al. vs.
Miami-Dade County, et al.) often is mentioned in conjunction with the
charter-amendment proposal, the remedies sought in that lawsuit are
distinct. The suit alleges that the redistricting plan that the County
Commission adopted in November unconstitutionally divides North Miami into
four county districts. It calls for a reorganization of the lines, not an
increase in the number of seats.

Regardless of its success in court, the lawsuit does not guarantee results
that could be brought about by the county voters' approval.

Miami-Dade voters deserve the opportunity to decide whether to provide our
newest communities with greater participation in local government through
the addition of two County Commission seats. Commission district lines are
redrawn at least every 10 years, following each census. This process is
designed to accommodate our community's evolution. But there must be enough
lines to redraw, and 15 is not too many.

The commission should place this question on the ballot, with the addition
of the two seats to take place in 2004, not in 2012 after the next census.
This is a great opportunity to make all voices in our community count --
both now and in the years to come.

Courtenay Strickland is coordinator of the American Civil Liberties Union's
Florida Equal Voting Rights Project.


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