Blame game played over redistricting plan failure
Some Gary Common Council members Tuesday were pointing fingers and others were dodging taking responsibility for the body’s failure to approve a ward redistricting plan by the state-mandated Dec. 31 deadline.
The council’s failure to meet the deadline and update its maps as required by statute led the state legislature to look at an amendment to the law that extends the map filing deadline to May 15 and prompted a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city council.
Council Vice President Tai Adkins, chairwoman of the Redistricting Committee, sought to place an ordinance with a redrawn district map on the agenda during Tuesday’s meeting in an attempt to get the body to pass it on all three readings in advance of a Feb. 14 hearing in the federal lawsuit filed against the council by resident Barbara Bolling.
The ordinance was added to the agenda by a 5-4 vote. An executive session has been scheduled at 5 p.m. Friday to discuss pending litigation followed by a redistricting committee meeting at 5:30 p.m. and an emergency special meeting will be held at 6 p.m. where the ordinance will be considered.
Councilmen Ronald Brewer, D-At Large, and Darren Washington, D-At Large, said the redistricting should have been started earlier than the first week of December and called the inability to get a map passed by the state-imposed deadline a failure in leadership.
The men said they didn’t appreciate finding out about the lawsuit secondhand and instead of from Council President William Godwin, D-1st, who they say should have called an executive session to inform the council of the litigation. Washington said he learned of the lawsuit in the newspaper after it was filed Jan. 25. Brewer said he learned about the lawsuit from staff days later.
By adding the ordinance to the agenda and approving it on all three readings, City Council attorney Rinzer Williams said it was necessary for the council to approve a map before the Saturday deadline for his response to the court regarding the suit in advance of next Tuesday’s hearing.
Williams said the judge indicated if the city did not present a map, he would either accept a map submitted by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit or draw his own and the city would be stuck with it. He said it was unclear if the judge has the authority to impose a map on the city.
He said the map was not presented to the council until just before the meeting because they were waiting on a response from the plaintiffs so any adjustments could be made before the council were to consider it. That response was not received until after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Williams said.
One of the maps presented by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit removes three sitting council members from their current districts, he said. It also guts the historic nature of one of the
neighborhoods. Without a map approved by the council to present to the judge, Williams said he fears the council will lose any say in how the city’s districts look for the next decade.
“At the end of the day we wither present a map for the judge or we don’t,” Williams said.
Brewer and Washington were joined by Councilmen David Fossett, D-2nd, and Dwight Williams, D-6th, in saying they did not have enough time to review the map before them and were unsure of its origins or intent. They said any new maps should include input from the public. The four voted against considering the measure Tuesday.
“This is a failure, I do not feel comfortable voting on this
tonight,” Brewer said.
Washington said it is a matter of accountability and not judgement. He said there are three new council members who were not around last year including himself. Washington took office in August. He was not informed about the need to redistrict and questioned why no committee meetings were held prior to December.
He questioned whether a federal judge would have the authority to impose a district map, which is a state issue, especially in light of a potential remedy under consideration by the legislature.
“Yes, we need to get something done. The bottom line is we need to have a public process. Approving this tonight, it feels rushed,” Washington said. He questioned the motives behind the maps and who drew them.
“For us to agree to pass maps that we already miss the deadline on doesn’t make sense,” Washington said.
Adkins said she did hold a committee meeting Dec. 5 and no one raised any concerns or comments at the time. She said Brewer, as a more seasoned council member, should have lead the discussion.
“As chair, my duty is to guide the committee. I presented the opportunity. I do believe you should lead,” Adkins said.
She accused Brewer of complaining about map to the administration instead of taking it up with her.
No additional committee meeting was called after Dec. 5 and the matter was not placed on the Dec. 6 or the Dec. 20 agenda for the regular meeting of the common council. No further action was taken on the matter until Tuesday.
When asked after the meeting whose responsibility it is to call a committee meeting to move legislation forward, Adkins declined to provide an answer. Adkins said she would provide a response via email. She did not do so by press time Wednesday.
Councilmen Godwin, Williams, Washington and Fossett, along with Councilwomen Linda Barnes Caldwell, D-5th, and Councilwoman Lori Latham, D-At Large, all answered is it the committee chairman’s responsibility to call committee meetings. Brewer and Councilwoman Mary Brown, D-3rd, were not asked.