By Bob Morgan

FOLEY, Ala. — A letter from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division concerning Foley’s recently submitted redistricting plan has raised questions for now about the upcoming municipal election slated for Aug. 26.

Indeed, who would run the city should a mayor and council be prevented by the Justice Department from taking office is one of the points now being researched, according to City Administrator Perry Wilbourne.

Wilbourne, in comments made Thursday, said the city received a four-page, 11-point letter from the Justice Department on Monday afternoon, June 16, a letter he saw for the first time on Tuesday.

“Each will require a response from us,” said Wilbourne of the 11 points.

“This is where they’re questioning the (redistricting) plan, they’re then asking us to explain more of the methodolgies.”

Due to a landmark civil rights case approximately 20 years ago, the city is required to seek preclearance for redistricting through the Justice Department. Prior to submitting the proposed 2008 redistricting plan, Wilbourne noted the city can hold a municipal election but those elected wouldn’t be able to take office until the Justice Department okays the plan.

Wilbourne also expressed concerns then that the preclearance process for the 2008 redistricting plan, on which the city worked from November 2007 to April 2008, could have the city “scrambling” right up to election time if the Justice Department raised questions about the plan.

The concerns the city had regarding the 2008 redistricting plan is the growth in the city’s population since the last municipal election. The city’s black population hasn’t kept pace with the significant increase in the white population, Wilbourne said in early April.

Under the proposed redistricting plan the minority strength of District 2, the city’s minority district, dropped from 67 percent to approximately 40 percent, barely above the level of what the Justice Department considers an “influence district,” one which allows the black population to have a substantial impact on who is elected.

The city made it a priority to protect the minority district in drawing up the redistricting plan, Wilbourne said in April.

The letter that arrived this week was a worst case scenario of sorts as far as what Wilbourne called in April the “unusual stresses” that would be brought to bear on the city if more questioning was forthcoming from the Justice Department once they received the redistricting plan.

Wilbourne said Thursday he has “grave concerns” about the city being able to answer the points in the letter to the Justice Department’s satisfaction in time to get preclearance for the Aug. 26 election.

The letter from the Justice Department states it received Foley’s redistricting plan on April 16 and supplemental information through June 5. The letter the city received in reply was delivered on June 16, so the Justice Department took a full 60 days to reply to the city’s proposed redistricting plan, pointed out Assistant City Administrator Sandra Pate on Friday.

Mayor John Koniar said Friday the Justice Department has a job to do and the city is “fully cooperating” with them in responding to the points made in the June 16 letter. At the same time, Koniar notes time is of the essence.

City qualifying begins July 1 and runs through July 15. Municipal runoff elections would be held Oct. 7.

“It’s incumbent on us to answer as soon as we can,” said Wilbourne of responding to the 11-point letter.

According to him, the city authorized its local attorneys on Wednesday to hire a Washington, D.C., law firm that has expertise in this area. The city is “moving data to them as fast as possible,” Wilbourne said of the two groups of attorneys.

“We all agreed in a telephone call that it is incumbent we at least make a partial response to them (Department of Justice) by close of day (Friday),” Wilbourne said.

Koniar said the only “fall back plan” at present should preclearance for redistricting not be granted in time for the Aug. 26 elections is to resort to the 2004 approved districts. The city is still trying to clarify the legalities and ramifications of doing so, the mayor said.

While Wilbourne said city fathers feel there will be an election on Aug. 26, “what bothers me is the quality of the election.”

He said the way things stand at present, some 522 voters would be “partially disenfranchised” if and when the 2004 districts are used.

“They all live outside of the district lines drawn for the 2004 elections, a (redistricting) plan precleared by the Justice Department,” Wilbourne said, noting the 522 would come from numerous parts of the city.

THE LETTER

Among the points in the Justice Department letter to the city is one asking for a “detailed description” of the city’s attempts to secure public input regarding the 2008 redistricting plan before and after it was drawn.

Pate said the city followed state law in giving public notice concerning the redistricting plan. She notes no public input one way or another was voiced in April at a public hearing on the plan.

The Justice Department is also asking for a “detailed explanation justifying the changes made to District 2 in the proposed redistricting plan” and “why areas with significant minority population adjacent to proposed District 2 ... were not included in District 2.”

According to Pate, the city did the “best job we could” to meet the purpose of evenly distributing the new population in the city.

Likewise, the Justice Department wants a detailed explanation of how the city’s Hispanic population is categorized in demographic estimates and Hispanic population figures for the city and each district in the 2004 districts and the 2008 proposed redistricting plan.

Because there hasn’t been a new census in eight years, the city doesn’t have the Hispanic count separate, Pate said. The city’s accepted methodology in the past two municipal elections has been to place Hispanics in the racial composition category“other,” she said.

“We will have to go door to door to determine that,” she said.

One point in the letter that Pate said has confused city leaders is this one: “If you contend that voting in the City of Foley is no longer racially polarized, please provide support for your contention.”

“We don’t know how to interpret that,” Pate said, noting that no such contention was made by the city in submitting the redistricting plan for approval.

Koniar, the mayor, said it was his understanding that the Justice Department has contacted Councilman Walter Heard, who represents District 2, the minority district. Heard has told Justice that he was okay with the redistricting plan as submitted, Koniar said,which leads the mayor to surmise that maybe others are questioning the city’s redistricting plan.

Reader Feedback

Feedback Rules

Add Your Comments

To add your comments you must be registered and logged in Registered Users Sign in Here *Member ID: *Password: Remember login? (requires cookies)   Become a Registered User Do not use usernames or passwords from your financial accounts! Note: Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required! *Create a Member ID: *Choose a password: *Re-enter password: *E-mail Address: *Year of Birth:   (children under 13 cannot register) *First Name: *Last Name: Home Phone: Business Phone: *Address: *City: *State: *Zip Code:   All comments must be approved by Gulf Coast Newspapers before posting to the Web site.

The opinions expressed in reader-posted comments are not necessarily the opinions of Baldwincountynow.com, Gulf Coast Newspapers or its newspapers and staffs. Baldwincountynow.com, Gulf Coast Newspapers and its newspapers and staffs do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any reader-posted comment. Responsibility for what is posted lies with each user.

Popular Searches Restaurants Physician & Surgeons Automobile Parts Automobile Repair/Service Pizza Automobile Dealers Attorneys/Lawyers Dentists Plumbing Contractors Beauty Salons More Enhanced Listings >>

Calendar of Events