Hillsborough Commissioners Approve New Census-Mandated Districts

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — On Tuesday, the Hillsborough County Commission approved a map with new boundaries for the four single-member county commission districts that will keep the mostly-Black District 3 intact.

Redistricting is the mandated redrawing of local, state and federal political boundaries every 10 years following the federal census to account for changes in population during the previous decade. Hillsborough County added about 250,000 new residents since the last redistricting in 2011.

There were four in-person public engagements and four public meetings since September in which residents voiced their opinions on four proposed redistricting maps.

Among those speaking at the public meetings was Norin Dollard, the chairwoman of redistricting for the Tampa League of Women Voters. While the mission is to make sure each district has a comparable population, she said redistricting laws also mandate that traditional communities not be split to ensure that communities are represented by a single commissioner.

She urged the commission to choose a proposal that would keep communities together.

Temple Terrace City Council member Meredith Abel echoed those concerns. One of the proposals would have split Temple Terrace in half along 56th Street. She said she personally supported the redistricting map that would not only keep the city together but would include a portion of the University of South Florida area, where many Temple Terrace residents work.

"At issue between the various maps is which maps accurately reflect communities of interest," said Dollard. "It's a concern for residents who want to see their community remain as one. There are communities that will not be adequately represented if they are divided."

Yvette Lewis, president of the Hillsborough County branch of the NAACP, agreed, noting that she's already been contacted by the Department of Justice, which wants to ensure that the county's Black communities are not split up in the redistricting process.

"We're already seeing serious gentrification and our voices are being streamlined. We don't need any gerrymandering," she said. "Please keep the communities intact and together. Let's be on the right side of the law this one time when it comes to African Americans, or there will be consequences."

Former County Commission Thomas Scott, representing the Tampa Bay Coalition of Clergy consisting of 38 Black churches, echoed those concerns regarding District 3, which has been a historically Black district represented by himself, by former Black legislator Les Miller and now by Commissioner Gwen Myers.

Scott supported the map drawn by Myers, which keeps Black communities like Progress Village in East Tampa intact.

"Make sure District 3 does not regress and split the Black community," he said.

"The African American people have struggled long and hard to have a district, and we want to keep it," said Gerald White, who has served on the county's Citizens Advisory Committee along with four charter review boards.

Ultimately, the commissioners voted for a revised map that members felt satisfied the requests of the community representatives.

They said the approved map meets all criteria:

• No retrogression of minority composition in districts, including maintaining a high enough Black population (39 percent) in District 3 to maximize the opportunity for a minority candidate to be elected.
• Provides similar population sizes in single-member districts to comply with the "one person, one vote" requirement. The population variance between districts on the approved map is 7.7 percent. Districts are required to have no more than a 10 percent population difference.
• Keeps districts compact and contiguous.
• Allows representation of general areas of the county that have similar interests or affinities.

The map will be submitted to the Florida Secretary of State for approval to be used for the 2022 elections.

The approved map can be found here.

The Hillsborough County School District is still in the process of drawing its new district maps, which must be submitted to the Secretary of State by Dec. 31.

The school district has already held public meetings at Sickles High School, Wharton High School and Lennard High School.

Upcoming meetings will be held Monday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. at Durant High School, 4748 Cougar Path, Plant City, and Thursday, Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. at Middleton High School, 4801 N. 22nd St., Tampa.

The school district is considering six redistricting proposals. To review the proposals, click here.