Political lines must reflect ever-changing Broward

A wave of demographic change swept across Broward in recent years and by law, the county must realign the boundaries of its nine county commission districts to reflect those changes. The process will culminate in the coming weeks with votes at two important hearings in Fort Lauderdale.

Political power and representation in Broward lags far behind demographic reality. One glance at county leadership reveals an uncomfortable truth: The governing body of one of the most diverse places in America looks not much different than it did in the 1980s, and it no longer reflects the Broward of today. The redrawing of boundaries, known as reapportionment or redistricting, is supposed to address those inequities every decade.

Broward is a majority-minority county where 31% of the population is Hispanic,

30% is Black and 33% is white, yet seven of the nine county commissioners are white. Two are Black and none is Hispanic in a county where the Hispanic population has grown 39% since 2010, making Hispanics the largest minority in Broward.

But you’d never know it to look at a county commission whose members have names such as Fisher, Geller, Ryan and Rich. A Democratic data consultant, Matthew Isbell, who has Broward roots, calls the current district map “horrible” and drew a new map with only one majority white district.

The new districts will be used in the

2022 election and through 2030 and cannot favor or disfavor any political party or incumbents. Voters in 2018 adopted amendments to the Broward charter that required the county to adhere to the Fair Districts standards in the state Constitution and to hire a college or university to draw maps.