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Suwannee Democrat

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March 21, 2013

District changes on horizon for Live Oak

Bryant Thigpen Suwannee Democrat

Live Oak — The Live Oak Redistricting Committee met on Tuesday night for what is projected to be their last meeting before the committee is expected to present their proposed district changes to the Live Oak City Council at their next regular monthly meeting. The council will then decide to adopt the proposals or continue with further discussion. If the council approves, Live Oak could see changes to the five districts that would see some receiving a new councilor. This would be the first change in districts in over 20 years.

The committee was formed to review the districts in the city of Live Oak and to make changes, if any, to evenly distribute the population among them. The committee held their first meeting on Jan. 29 and met the last Tuesday of each month.

“It has been very interesting,” said committee member Jenifer Seaman. “They have been very easy to work with and we were all there for one cause.”

Using data provided by the Supervisor of Election’s Office, the group was able to look closely at the population and make informed decisions.

“With the Supervisor of Election’s technology, it made the job really easy. We were able to go block by block and examine its population,” Seaman said.

City Attorney Erny Sellers confirmed in a letter that the city council can move forward with considerations for redistricting without seeking the approval of the Federal District Court.

“It is not necessary to obtain the permission or approval of the court prior to redistricting the city of Live Oak,” Sellers said. “In addition, Suwannee County is not one of the five Florida counties required to obtain pre-approval of redistricting enactments from the U.S. Department of Justice. Those counties are Hillsborough, Hardee, Collier, Hendry and Monroe.”

Sellers also stated that District 2 meets the requirements for the mandated majority-minority district.

He explains, “From the information provided, it is apparent that proposed District 2 is what is known as the majority-minority district,” Sellers said in the letter. “More than 50 percent of the voting age population in District 2 are identified on the 2010 census as black or Afro-American. While that is a minority race, it constitutes a majority of the voting age population in District 2 hence making District 2 a majority-minority district.”

Committee members consist of: Tommy Jefferson (District 1); Stefan Blue (District 2); Jim Ketchum (District 3); Jenifer Seaman (District 4); and Brant Helvenston (District 5). 
The committee is expected to present their proposed plan to the city council on April 9. The council will then have to conduct two public hearings before the plan can be approved.

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