Local Gerrymandering?

Gerrymander: (verb) to divide or arrange (an area) into political units to give special advantages to one group.

In the Herald Tribune, Nancy Detert assures the public that the Sarasota County Commission is not working to gerrymander County districts with their current redistricting effort (9/9/19). There’s a problem with how Commissioner Detert is defining gerrymandering. Gerrymandering doesn’t have to mean that districts are bizarrely drawn. You can swing political advantage in your own direction without creating bizarre looking districts.

The Commission is creating additional expense and needless controversy by choosing not to wait for the gold standard – the 2020 US Census. They are using public money for an unnecessary exercise. They are giving the public very short lead times to digest their meeting agenda and proposed district maps (maps will be discussed Wednesday and were released Monday). It is reasonable to question their goals in doing so. Redrawing districts now is costing us the opportunity to put those dollars into higher priorities. Their effort is serving someone’s interest, but it sure isn’t the public’s.

This is the same County Commission that is working against the voter mandate to reverse the vacation (read:privatization) of Beach Road. Voters understood that our County Commission violated the Comprehensive Plan when they vacated the public waterfront thoroughfare. Seventy percent of the electorate approved the Beach Road amendments, but this County Commission is litigating against them. It’s another example of the Sarasota County Commission working against voters.

Are Sarasotans so injured by the current districting that moving ahead of the US Census is necessary? No. That’s a ridiculous notion. There will always be minor population variations between districts. Show me state or congressional districts that have zero populations differentiation. They don’t exist. Do current Sarasota County districts have such big populations swings that they must be fixed? Sarasota County’s five district populations range from 80,000 to 89,000. Do these population differences meet a threshold where residents are being disenfranchised? Again, no.

Who could be hurt by permitting the current districts to remain intact? Incumbent County Commission Mike Moran could be hurt. Moran is up for reelection in 2020. Single member districts advocates have found the 2018 County Commission election returns show the at-large anti-establishment candidates (Wesley Beggs and Ruta Jouniari) would have won District One, Moran’s district. District One voters rejected incumbent Al Maio and candidate Christian Ziegler. Both are reliable “yes” votes for crony development interests. It appears voters in Districts One rejected crony Commissioners (like Moran) who voted (Maio) or would have voted (Ziegler) against their interests by refusing to protect the Celery Fields from industrial development.

Is this really about political party? Those who plow big money into local elections want to secure commissioners who are friendly to their interests first and foremost. There are Democrats on the Sarasota City Commission who can’t seems to find any reason to turn down awful development proposals which their constituents firmly oppose (think Liz Alpert and Hagen Brody on Lido Pavilion). So no, this isn’t really about political party.

This redistricting is likely about power brokers who are deeply concerned about empowered voters. Keeping voters in a fog of diluted accountability with 5 at-large Commissioners accountable to everyone (so really, no one) serves their interests. When Single Member Districts were approved by Sarasota voters in November 2018, the accountability of future County Commissioners soared, and the opportunity to buy elections diminished. This premature effort to redraw districts and be seen as a response to the (hopefully) loosening grip of power brokers on Sarasota County government.

When the US Census comes in, the ability to fudge and cherry pick data may not be so easy. The County Commission has hired a consultant provide a second set of population numbers because their in-house population data and staff report didn’t demonstrate a need for redistricting. Redistricting now gives cabal Commissioners and the power brokers who support them the opportunity to choose data they like and create whatever political advantage can be created before 2020 elections.

Nancy Detert has been a voice of reason on many issues. The Celery Fields and Siesta Promenade come to mind. Nancy Detert has her own name. She can win without being anointed by power brokers like Neal, Beruff, Jensen, Benderson, etc. But even Nancy Detert may be pressured to “play the game” from time to time.
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Note: The County Commission will be reviewing the newly proposed district maps on 9/11/2019, first item on their agenda after public input. Their meeting begins at 9 am.

Tune in to The Detail this Thursday at 9 am. My guests, Pat Rounds, Dan Lobeck and I will discuss the latest updates on the County Commission’s redistricting effort. Listen to The Detail Thursdays at 9 am to WSLR 96.5 fm (WBPV 100.1 fm in Bradenton), or stream us live at www.wslr.org. The show is archived and replays Saturdays at 11 am. Join us, and if you like this content, please subscribe, and please share!