Fair Districts Backers Go Before Hostile Legislature
Saturday, February 13, 2010
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The leader of a constitutional amendment drive to revamp how Florida lawmakers draw political boundaries traded fire with a pair of legislative committees Thursday, contending the plan "is not rocket science.”
Ellen Freidin, chairman of FairDistricts Florida, said the effort to prohibit legislative or congressional district lines from being drawn to favor incumbents or political parties will not hurt minority representation or take redistricting out of the hands of legislators.
"There’s no question these are workable standards,” Freidin told a combined hearing of House and Senate redistricting committees. "This is not rocket science.”
But Republicans dominating the panels took turns pressing Freidin, trying to portray FairDistricts as impossible to implement and a threat to the state’s minority-leaning congressional and legislative districts. Senate Redistricting Chairman Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, at one point challenged Freidin to submit maps that would meet the conditions outlined by the measures slated to go before voters in November.
Freidin declined, saying such an exercise is useless until the 2010 Census is completed.
"You came up with the idea, you spent $3.5 million and now you say you can’t do it?” Haridopolos said. "Theory is one thing. Practice is another.” More
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