Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
New districts could diversify Broward council
The mostly-white Broward County Commission could become more racially diverse after the 2022 elections.
A confluence of factors could contribute to a change: an increasing Black and Hispanic population in the county, the once-a-decade redistricting to take into account population shifts, and term limits.
Matthew Isbell, a Florida-based Democratic data consultant who runs the MCI Maps firm, said redrawn districts could lead to a much more racially diverse
County Commission.
He developed a map showing potential boundaries for the commission’s nine districts. It wasn’t a detailed analysis; that would require more time and detailed 2020 population data the Census isn’t close to releasing.
But, Isbell wrote on Twitter, his quickly produced potential map suggests three districts represented by Black commissioners, and one by a Hispanic commissioner, plus one district that could elect a Hispanic commissioner. The nine-member commission currently has two Black and no Hispanic commissioners.
Broward Mayor Steve Geller said that seems like an unlikely scenario, though he said it is difficult to analyze before the Census Bureau makes available data from the 2020 decennial population count.
Black districts
Although there aren’t yet numbers, Geller said he thinks there might be enough Black residents in central Broward to create two districts that would likely elect Black commissioners. Currently there is one in central Broward, represented by Commissioner Dale Holness, in addition to the one in southwest Broward represented by Commissioner Barbara Sharief.
Geller said one district potentially could be drawn to take in largely Caribbean American communities in west central Broward and another might encompass African American communities in east central Broward, providing further diversity on a future County Commission. “Until I see data, that’s a guess, but no more than a guess,” he said.
In 2010, Census figures showed 27% of Broward’s population was Black and 25% Hispanic. A 2019 Census estimate said the county’s population was 30% Black and 31% Hispanic.
Hispanic districts
Though Isbell raised the possibility of one and possibly two districts that could elect Hispanic commissioners, Geller said such districts would be difficult if not impossible to draw.
“There’s been a ton of development in southwest Broward in the last 10 years. I don’t know whether you can create a Hispanic seat there,” Geller said.
Among the challenges in creating districts likely to elect a Hispanic commissioner:
Hispanic residents are spread through the county. Although the Hispanic population is a greater share in some cities in southwest Broward, it is much more spread out than the county’s Black residents, and might not provide enough of a nucleus to elect a Hispanic commissioner.
Hispanic voters aren’t concentrated in one political party. Voter registration records show 42% of the Hispanic registered voters in the county are Democratic, 22% Republican and 36% no party affiliation/independent. County commission races are Democratic versus Republican races, and Geller said many voters would be more likely to choose a commissioner based on party rather than ethnicity.
Though the Hispanic population of Broward has increased, voter registration lags the population. Some Hispanic residents, such as Venezuelans who have fled the economic collapse and dictatorial rule of their country, aren’t yet citizens. And Hispanics are younger than the overall population, so a greater share aren’t yet eligible to vote.
“I looked at the numbers 10 years ago, and it was not possible 10 years ago to create a seat that would likely elect a Hispanic commissioner because you could come up with a seat that could be 40% Hispanic, but that’s 20% Hispanic Democrats and 20% Hispanic Republican,” Geller said.
Broward has had one Hispanic county commissioner in the southwest Broward district currently represented by Sharief. (In 2010 Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin resigned as prosecutors announced five felony public corruption charges against her. Wasserman-Rubin, who died last year, eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.)
“Hopefully with redistricting … a more diverse population of individuals could be included in these different pockets of districts throughout the county,” said Patti Good, who is the only Hispanic member of the School Board.
About 40% of the registered voters in her southwest Broward district are Hispanic, by far the highest of any School Board member’s district.
“Everyone brings their own life experiences to any elected service role, and so I as an immigrant coming to this country bring my own perspective of struggles, challenges and understanding of what others may be going through that perhaps someone who hasn’t gone through it might not be able to understand,” Good said.
She came to the U.S. from Cuba at age 5.
Redistricting
Every 10 years, boundaries for offices that are elected by districts, such as county commission, are redrawn. The idea is to reflect population changes uncovered every 10 years by the Census.
Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s one-person, one-vote doctrine, each district must have approximately equal populations.
Geller said people have often-conflicting priorities: Some want districts to represent so-called communities of interest, such as everyone who lives along the beach in coastal Broward. Others want to follow the boundaries of cities and other communities. Republicans in the overwhelmingly Democratic county have sought one seat on the commission that they have a chance of winning.
Under mid-1980s changes to the federal Voting Rights Act, district boundaries are supposed to be crafted in a way that increases the chances for the election of people from traditionally underrepresented minority communities.
Redistricting for the Broward County Commission will be handled differently this year. Under 2018 voter approved amendments to the county charter, consultants from a Florida university will be hired to examine the data, conduct hearings and propose potential maps for the commission to review. The idea is to remove some of the politics in redistricting.
Politics has always been a critical factor in redistricting. When the Broward County Commission drew boundaries of districts that went into effect starting with the 2012 elections, the border of one district took in the then-Davie home of Marty Kiar, who was then serving in the state House of Representatives. Kiar won the subsequent commission election and is now the countywide elected property appraiser.
Black community leaders objected to the 2012 map, arguing it packed too many Black voters into one district, making it difficult to win additional representation on the commission.
Three of the nine commissioners are in their final terms because of term limits, including both who are Black: Holness and Sharief.
The timetable is uncertain — except that it is guaranteed to be tight. Because of the coronavirus pandemic and turmoil in the Census process created by the Trump administration, the Census Bureau has repeatedly delayed the promised release of the data mapmakers need for their redistricting.
Originally slated for release by March 31, the data is now promised by Sept. 30.
The county charter and Florida law require that the district be completed by Dec. 31, an exceedingly tight timetable for something Geller said is extraordinarily complex and difficult to get right, especially if rushing.