Messina to Introduce 7-Member Plan For Reapportionment of  City Council

Messina to Introduce 7-Member Plan For Reapportionment of City Council

Chairman Follows Plan Approved by Study Committee Named by Watts

CENTRAL — Central City Councilman Wayne Messina, chairman of the Mayor’s Committee on Reapportionment, presented his committee’s report to Mayor Mac Watts this week.

The report recommended increasing the size of the City Council to seven members, with five being elected from single member districts and two members elected at large citywide.

Currently, the Council has five members, all elected at-large.

Messina said he plans to introduce an ordinance to implement the committee’s recommendations on Tuesday.  It would be on the Council agenda for final consideration on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Mayor Watts has expressed opposition to the five-plus-two plan.

If Watts signed the ordinance, the Council would probably hire a consultant to draft a proposed reapportionment plan for the five districts.  After final approval of such a plan by the Council, it would be submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval under the federal Voting Rights Act.

If Watts vetoed Messina’s proposal, Messina could ask the Council to override Watts’ veto.  That would take four of the five votes on the Council.

If the Council refused to override Watts’ veto, the current five-member at-large Council would remain in effect.  It has already been approved by the Justice Department.

Messina served as chairman of a seven-member appointed by the Mayor to study and make recommendations on the composition of the Central City Council.

The committee held six public hearings and twice voted to approve a report that the next City Council should have seven members with five elected from districts and two at-large.

Messina said a report that the deliberations of the committee were “inconclusive” were completely false.

Messina said there was nothing “inconclusive” about the committee’s decision — “a majority of the committee on two separate occasions voted to recommend that the new City Council have seven members with five from districts and two at-large.”

By Woody Jenkins, Editor, Central City News

 

Twitter Digg Delicious Stumbleupon Technorati Facebook Email

Comments are closed.