Several years back when I was active in the Lake Worth Democratic Club, all of our members enthusiastically worked to help get enough signatures in order to get fair districting on the ballot. Dr. Harry Levin worked extra hard--it was his mission as it was for all of us. We all had a sense of pride when we finally got it on the ballot in order to ban gerrymandering and it passed with 63% of the vote.
Jackie Lee says, "Last Friday the Florida Supreme Court threw out the Legislature’s Senate. The Court’s decision is important because it gives complete validation to the amendments we worked so hard to pass and it provides a roadmap for future enforcement.
This historic court ruling happened because the Tallahassee politicians ignored the rules you demanded they follow. The Palm Beach Post said yesterday: “Senate leaders treated that demand the way Hugo Chavez treats popular dissent: They ignored it.”
Your deep commitment to fairness stopped the Senate in its tracks. The Supreme Court said that the map was “rife with …improper intent.” It is the first time in Florida history that a Supreme Court has thrown out a redistricting plan and it only happened because your rules for redistricting were used to stop politicians from putting their ambitions ahead of the people.
But we must keep fighting. And we need funding to fight! Now the Legislature has to submit a new map. If it does not comply with the constitution, it will have to be contested again. And a challenge to the Congressional map in a Tallahassee trial court has just begun. Will you help us continue the fight?
Seems like we have been fighting this fight forever, doesn’t it? (Actually it has been four and a half years since the first petition was signed.) So sit back, enjoy this great milestone, and then please contribute so we can keep working until the last court has approved the last map – putting people over politicians once and for all."
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