Senate panel thinks it’s got a winner — lottery system yields new district numbering
by John Kennedy | March 21st, 2012After two days of testimony about oddly shaped district “appendages” and increasing tension between senators, the Senate Reapportionment Committee wrapped up its work Wednesday by bringing out lottery machine cages to select random numbers for new Senate boundaries.
“Bizarre is the word,” said Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach.
Reapportionment Chairman Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, recommended the lottery-like selection process to determine odd-or-even number districts. Odd-numbered districts get four-year terms, even districts draw two-years. In throwing out the Senate’s first attempt at line-drawing, the Florida Supreme Court ruled the original numbering plan favored incumbents.
Gaetz said he was intent on finding an “incumbent neutral plan.” Gaetz said the system he deployed was reminiscent of what he recalled being used by the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) at his girlfriend’s church during schoolyard socials when he was a teenager in North Dakota.
But the system wasn’t fully embraced.
Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Tampa, said the Senate shouldn’t be “casting lots,” for districts and later sought unsuccessfully to have the selection stopped on grounds it violated state gambling laws. Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, condemned the lottery, saying it was wrong to bring a “quick pick” approach to settling public policy.
Another critic, Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Jacksonville, questioned whether the green lottery balls used to determine the even numbered districts had been recently painted, making them heavier and affecting when they dropped from the cage. She was assured by Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich of Weston that the balls were green when shipped to the state from a factory.
The Senate now is positioned to debate its latest proposed redistricting plan Thursday, with a vote scheduled for the next day. Gaetz said he will include an amendment to the plan Thursday that incorporates the new odds-and-evens numbering system that emerged from the lottery system.
Tags: Sen. Don Gaetz, Sen. Maria Sachs, Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, Sen. Ronda Storms
March 21st, 2012 at 1:40 pm
Correction: Senator Audrey Gibson not Senator Arthenia Joyner
Gibson is from Jacksonville and is the senator who questioned the green ball.
March 21st, 2012 at 2:09 pm
So did the special interest groups get to buy tickets to see whether their bought and paid for Senators won or lost extra power?
March 21st, 2012 at 9:05 pm
Asia for Asians, Africa for Africans, White countries for everyone????????
Everybody
says there is this RACE problem. Everybody says this RACE problem will
be solved when the third world pours into EVERY white country and ONLY
into White countries.
The Netherlands and Belgium are more
crowded than Japan or Taiwan, but nobody says Japan or Taiwan will solve
this RACE problem by bringing in millions of third worlders and quote
assimilating unquote with them.
Everybody says the final
solution to this RACE problem is for EVERY white country and ONLY White
countries to “assimilate,” i.e., intermarry, with all those non-Whites.
What
if I said there was this RACE problem and this RACE problem would be
solved only if hundreds of millions of non-blacks were brought into
EVERY black country and ONLY into black countries?
How long
would it take anyone to realize I’m not talking about a RACE problem. I
am talking about the final solution to the BLACK problem?
And how long would it take any sane black man to notice this and what kind of psycho black man wouldn’t object to this?
But
if I tell that obvious truth about the ongoing program of genocide
against my race, the White race, Liberals and respectable conservatives
will just say that I’m a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews.
They say they are anti-racist. What they are is anti-White.
Anti-racist is a code word for anti-White.
April 1st, 2012 at 3:37 pm
Remarkable things here. I’m very happy to peer your article. Thank you a lot and I am having a look ahead to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?