Residents Study Redistricting Options

Atif Siddiqi and Sean Lloyd looked at one of the six maps that were lined up against a wall of the meeting room at .

After studying all six maps and considering each option, the two Temple Terrace residents agreed that either Map E or Map F would be Hillsborough County’s best choice for redistricting.

Now that the county has the 2010 Census data, it has to redraw its County Commission boundaries to make sure that the districts represent an equal amount of residents. The process started earlier this year, and since May 3, a Redistricting Task Force made up of county officials has been organizing community meetings across the county. They were at Lightfoot on May 23 to show each redistricting option, answer resident questions, and gather comments.

“We’d like to know what you think,” said Steve Valdez, task force member and manager of Client Services for the county, at the beginning of the meeting.

Republican Victor Crist currently represents District 2, which includes Temple Terrace. However, under Maps A, B, C and D, Temple Terrace is moved to District 3, which is represented by Democrat Les Miller. Maps E and F draw boundary lines along 56th Street, splitting Temple Terrace into Districts 2 and 3.

At their regular meeting May 17, the Temple Terrace City Council agreed that it preferred Map E. Council members said it would be better to be represented by two commissioners instead of one.

“That would give us a lot more clout,” said Mayor Joe Affronti.

Siddiqi said he was thinking of his three children when looking at the maps. His son is a student at , and his other two children will eventually go to Lewis, too.

“My primary concern is how it would impact my kids’ school, and how funding is impacted for schools,” he said.

He said he liked the way district lines are currently drawn, and Maps E and F seem to reflect the least changes.

Lloyd said he also liked Maps E and F because of their similarity to the current boundaries.

“If we do get taken out of our district, we’ll be represented by someone we didn’t vote for,” he said, referring to Miller.

Elena Petrescu lives in Spring Hill but came to the Temple Terrace meeting.

“I work and I play in this area, so that’s why I’m here,” she said. “It’s important.”

She said she liked Map E because it gives the most equitable representation to the county’s racial categories.

Temple Terrace resident Tim Heberlein said he preferred Maps D and E because they seem to maintain the fairest representation.

“I appreciate the county and the task force for putting this on,” he said of the public meeting.

If you missed the May 23 meeting, don’t worry. You can still look at the maps and submit comments online through June 7. Then, the County Commission will have two public hearings on June 9 and 20. It will make its final decision on June 20.