Metro Council Ad Hoc Committee on Redistricting

Agenda

1. Call to Order

   Chair Winkler called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.

2. Roll Call

   Chair Winkler introduced the committee members and non-committee members present. A quorum was established. *NOTE: All committee members present attended virtually, except for Council Member Arthur, Council President James, Committee Member Chambers Armstrong, Council Member Hollander, Council Member Reed, Chair Winkler, Vice Chair Piagentini, and Council Member George.

3. Special Discussion
4. ID 21-1352 Proposed 2021 Redistricting Maps
   Discussion Item

   Jeff Noble, Legislative Aide for District 26, gave a presentation (attached hereto). The following also spoke to this item: - Chair Winkler - Vice Chair Piagentini - Council Member George - Council President James - Hollie Hopkins, Jefferson County Attorney's Office - Council Member Arthur - Committee Member Green - Jeff Derouen, Jefferson County Attorney's Office - Council Member McCraney - Council Member Blackwell The following was discussed: - Detailed maps are on the Metro Council's webpage at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council/redistricting-information - Next meeting on Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. will include a public comment session - Form available to provide feedback regarding Redistricting at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/metro-council/redistricting-information - Possibly scheduling additional special meetings to get this passed in November - Maps received and reviewed by Council Members - Adjusting the map to achieve particular goals - Tried to avoid splitting voting precincts, but sometimes it was necessary to achieve other goals - Time does not allow for the Council to do a road show to get community feedback because the pandemic delayed the receipt of the Census data - Feedback from public comments and the comment forms will be reviewed and possible changes will be considered - Compact schedule provides very limited amount of time to engage in feedback before it is voted on - Concern about formal neighborhood associations being split between two Districts and needing to understand the impact of such - Per the Jefferson County Attorney's Office review in conjunction with Gerald Hebert, a national expert on Redistricting, the maps meet all three legal standards, which include the following: - One Person, One Vote Standard -- the Districts stay within a 10 percent overall deviation from the ideal district, though the Council has actually stayed within a 5 percent deviation either direction - Federal Voting Rights Standard -- minority voting strength is not diluted, there are still five majority Black voting Districts and one crossover District (District 6) - Compactness and Contiguity Requirements per state law -- the core Districts from last year are still represented - The Redistricting aligns with the recommendations from Public Health and Wellness - Majority and minority representation - Crossover District means that the minority voters' preferred candidate is able to be elected, and a legal challenge would consider the Citizen Voting Age population and historical voting patterns - Whether there were six Black Districts after the Redistricting ten years ago - may be the case regarding population in the Districts, but that is not considered for the legal analysis so courts would have viewed District 6 as a crossover District ten years ago as well

5. Adjournment

   Chair Winkler adjourned the meeting at 6:11 p.m.

6. Note: Agendas are followed at the discretion of the Chair. While an item may be listed, it does not mean all items will be heard and/or acted upon by the Committee.
7. Clerk(s)

   Sonya Harward, Clerk

8. Support Staff

   Hollie Hopkins, Jefferson County Attorney's Office Jeff Derouen, Jefferson County Attorney's Office

9. Non-Committee Member(s)

   Council Member Barbara Shanklin (D-2), Council Member Jecorey Arthur (D-4), Council Member Donna Purvis (D-5), Council President David James (D-6), Council Member Paula McCraney (D-7), Council Member Bill Hollander (D-9), Council Member Scott Reed (R-16), Council Member Nicole George (D-21), and Council Member Amy Holton Stewart (D-25)