STARKVILLE — The first work session to discuss Starkville’s redistricting of voting wards ended Tuesday with aldermen sketching solutions on a four-foot map of the city.
Though the board won’t officially redraw lines until two more rounds of meetings and public hearings are held, they started by analyzing four possible redistricting templates based on census data and influenced by criteria to maintain majority minority voting districts, even the population for all districts and keep board members in their respective ward.
Some maps included simple changes like repositioning Catherine Street from Ward 5 to Ward 6, and drastic changes, like extending Ward 7 from north of Highway 182 to the southernmost part of the city.
Ward 7 Alderman Henry N. Vaughn balked at the idea of acquiring more ditches and sewers and servicing such a large area, but Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman reminded Vaughn that the maps are a starting point and don’t have to be used moving forward.
The board is working to even the number of residents in each ward to roughly 3,500 after Ward 3 grew by more than 1,600 residents over the last 10 years. Currently, Ward 3 and Ward 1 need to be trimmed, Wiseman said.
“I realize I’m losing 1,200 to 1,400 people out of my ward,” Ward 3 Aldermen Eric Parker said. “But I’ve basically got the simplest ward; it’s one road (South Montgomery) to look at. I don’t think it’ll change my ward much.”
All wards will be affected by redistricting.
Federal law requires cities to balance the population of each of its wards.
The board agreed that keeping neighborhoods intact is a priority, as some larger neighborhoods are separated by boundary lines. Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk referenced Hollis Creek separating a street in Huntington Park, while Ward 5 Aldermen Jeremiah Dumas said two neighborhoods in his ward are broken by boundaries.
A key aspect in any redistricting in Wards 6 and 7 — mostly populated by blacks — is to ensure the city doesn’t violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices. Any redistricting approved by the board will be sent to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval.
Ward 6 Alderman Roy A. Perkins urged the board to leave Wards 6 and 7 intact.
“The justice department will consultant with African-Americans on the board to get our opinion on this,” Perkins said. “There appears to be no real need to redraw the entire city. These maps do some serious gerrymandering throughout the city.”
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