This is a continuation of my last diary dealing with the backroom part of the redistricting process here in Florida. While the last diary dealt primarily with the State House and the few missed opportunities we had to help our chances there, this diary will take a look at the original State Senate map that was passed and rejected by the Supreme Court.
A little bit of backstory first: As I explained in my last diary, the Democrats were not in agreement on how to respond and fight the Republican maps. There were two factions: on one side there was the Party Loyalists, led by FDP Chair Rod Smith, and Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich. The Loyalists believed in a cautious approach to redistricting, thinking that the best thing we could do as Democrats was just keep our mouths shut and let Republicans screw themselves over. They also thought that introducing alternative maps was a bad idea.
The other faction however, were mainly composed of the House Democratic Caucus and led by House Minority Leader Ron Saunders. These Democrats believed that the best way to win in court was to offer alternatives and to throw the entire kitchen sink at the Republican plans and hope something sticks. This faction also believed in negotiating with the Senate Republicans, by showing them ideas and getting them to inch closer and closer to passing a favorable map for us.
During the first try at the State Senate redistricting, Chairman Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) indicated early on that he was opposed to amendments and would push through his bill no matter what. As the incoming Senate President, he had immense power over his caucus at this point and could even cut deals with a few disloyal Democrats to get their votes. Knowing this, the two factions had their first major battle. Leader Saunders proposed that we introduce an alternative map on the Senate floor to highlight the problems with the Republican plan. He even had gotten Sen. Gwen Margolis, a former Senate President and first women Senate President in the nation, to agree to sponsor the plan.
Fearing that she was losing control over her own caucus, Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich objected and threatened every member of her caucus not to introduce any maps. She even called up Chairman Don Gaetz and warned him that any other map introduced by a member of her caucus was a party plan designed to hurt Republicans and he shouldnt allow it. With one swift move, Leader Rich eliminated any chance of a Democratic-friendly Senate map, before the Supreme Court ruled.
Sensing a defeat, Leader Saunders and his redistricting team thought of a brilliant strategy, allying with a Republican Senator to make our arguments for the court into the record. Saunders dispatched myself and a few other members of the team to work with State Senator Paula Dockery (R- Lakeland), one of the few statesmen left in the Senate, on challenging Sen. Gaetz' map on the floor. Armed with a few talking points and prepared maps in her office, Sen Dockery made an excellent case on the floor that the State Supreme Court even pulled arguments from when it struck down the first Senate map.
Then the map came back to the House. Since no map was introduced as an alternative in the Senate, the House Caucus worried that the Court wouldnt have clear legislative intent to challenge the map with. Therefore, the House Dems introduced their first alternative: the Jenne Amendment. This amendment, introduced by State Representative Evan Jenne (D-Dania Beach), was what you guys here call a "minimal change" map, designed to just highlight the major flaws while keeping it as close to the original plan. The plan was debated on the floor, but in a smart move right before the vote, Rep Jenne closed by asking Republicans to vote against his own plan because "While it vastly improved the Senate plan, NOTHING could fix such an unconstitutional plan". Unable to do anything, the Republicans had to vote against the amendment and give the perception they agreed with him.
Now the Senate map passed, and it was on to the Supreme Court where on a 5-2 opinion, the plan was struck down as an incumbent-protection plan that violated Tier 2 standards of the Fair Districts Amendment. The next diary I do will cover the process after the court ruled and an in-depth look at the districts themselves. Hope Im not boring everyone, this has been a long and meaningful process to be involved in and I want to share these experiences.