Miami commissioners not ready to accept new voting card in gerrymandering settlement

Miami commissioners are not yet ready to accept a new voting map as part of a settlement in a racial gerrymandering lawsuit, expressing concerns that the proposed map would not ensure diversity among elected officials, delaying still the controversial legal battle..

In a 4-0 vote, the Miami City Commission on Thursday postponed a vote on the settlement until the May 23 meeting, with some members saying it was too big a decision to make without the presence of Commissioner Damian Pardo, who is absent. the country for a previously planned engagement.

Reached by telephone after the vote, Pardo said he was “disappointed” by the commission’s decision to postpone. He noted that he was the commissioner who sponsored a resolution in favor of the settlement in January.

“My position has been very clear,” Pardo said. “I certainly would have voted in favor of the settlement.”

President Christine King took a similar position.

“I’m ready to move forward,” she told her colleagues, adding that Thursday’s vote should have been simply a “procedural point” because commissioners had previously agreed on the terms during an informal meeting.

But Commissioners Manolo Reyes and Joe Carollo expressed hesitation, saying they feared the proposed new map would not ensure ethnic diversity on the commission.

“Our city should be represented equally, and that’s my big concern about this.” … I’m concerned about the future of the city of Miami,” Reyes said.

The new map had been agreed to by both sides as part of a proposed settlement in a federal lawsuit against the city brought by voting rights activists represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. The settlement required approval from the city commission.

Last month, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore ruled in a case that Miami’s voting map was racist and ordered the city to throw it out. Prior to the decision, commissioners had openly stated that the voting map was established to ensure that the five-member commission included three Hispanic commissioners, one white and one black to ensure racial diversity among board members – a policy which, according to Moore, violated the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.

A Miami Herald analysis of the proposed new map showed that it would result in only minor changes in the racial makeup of the city’s five voting districts, maintaining Hispanic supermajorities in Districts 1, 3 and 4, and a black majority in District 5.

Carollo said Thursday he wanted the opportunity to compare the map to the two versions previously proposed during settlement talks. King countered that officials had already received that information before the meeting.

The legal implications of delaying approval of the settlement were not immediately clear. Attorney Christopher Johnson, the city’s outside counsel, said the city is expected to update the court next week on the status of settlement discussions. He said the judge had stayed the case for now, but it was possible the judge would not continue the stay. The corrective process could involve the commission redrawing the map, Johnson said. The judge could then accept or reject the plan proposed by the city, or draw his own.

Under the currently proposed settlement, the city would agree to pay the plaintiffs nearly $1.6 million in attorneys’ fees. Johnson said that figure was less than the roughly $2 million the ACLU initially requested.

The proposed settlement also stated that the city would not need to hold special elections for incumbent commissioners because of the redrawn map. However, Johnson said it’s possible that could change because commissioners have delayed approving the settlement.

Carollo said he thought the city had “an excellent chance of overturning this decision on appeal. Johnson said if the city chooses this path, it would have to appeal by tomorrow.