Governor Evers and the People's Maps Commission recent proposed redistricting maps to challenged the state's GOP gerrymandering redistricting maps will definitely eliminate the Latino majority state representative districts and reduce Black majority districts in Milwaukee County.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
November 4, 2021
Madison, WI - On Wednesday, Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) learned that the State Dems and Governor Tony Evers (D) including the People's Maps Commission's proposed redistricting maps actually delutes the majority eligible voters in the Latino majority 8th and 9th State Assembly Districts including the reduction of Black majority State Assembly Districts including any Black representation the State Senate in Milwaukee County. The assembly and senate districts affected will be labeled as minority opportunity districts.
Apparently, the White Dems in Wisconsin including Governor Evers seemed to favor that only White Democrats be elected in those state assembly districts including the state senate for at least the next 20 years, if Evers and the Dems actually manage to pass their proposed district maps to challenged the State's GOP (Republicans) proposed gerrymandering maps.
The Republican controlled legislature for decades have passed gerrymandering maps in favor to keeping them in control of the state legislature.
If we compare both proposed redistricting maps, at least the GOP gerrymandering maps retains the two Latino majority state assembly districts and most of the Black majority districts compared to Governor Evers's and the People's Map's Commission's proposed recent redistricting maps.
Evers was elected Governor with the majority of Latino and Black vote and today, he seems to be actually working to eliminate the Latino majority and Black majority districts by cracking and diluting the eligible Latino and Black vote that elected him into office in 2019.
Shame on Governor Evers, the White Dems in Wisconsin and the People's Maps Commission.
Both State Representatives Marisabel Cabrera (D-Milw) from the 9th State Assembly District and Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milw) from the State Assembly District 8th have yet to release a statement concerning the possible dilution of the Latino majority in their districts that will lead to creating White majority districts in the Southside of Milwaukee and disenfranchising the predominant Latino community from electing a candidate of their choice.
WisPolitics reported, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu knocked the People’s Maps Commission proposals. The Oostburg Republican noted they would create fewer majority Black and Hispanic districts than the maps GOP leaders drew. He also pointed out more Wisconsin voters would have to wait more than four years to vote in a state Senate race under the commission’s maps vs. Republicans’.
Under the GOP proposal, 138,753 voters would be moved from odd-numbered Senate districts — which are up in the 2022 cycle — to even-numbered seats — which aren’t up again until 2024. The same would be true of 523,402 voters under the commission’s plan, according to his office.
“Governor Evers attached his name to maps that decrease racial majority-minority districts and disenfranchise over 500,000 Wisconsin voters,” LeMahieu said. “His Commission prioritized partisan gerrymandering over core constitutional protections.”
Wisconsin State Senator Lena C. Taylor, (D-Milw) released the following statement, "Maps that don't maintain majority minority districts, as a required minimum standard is against the VRA (Voting Rights Act of 1965), and unacceptable to me."
"Maps that do not consider the hypersegregation, voting patterns, mass incarceration, census under count, and citizenship challenges are VRA violations and unacceptable!
"Maps that eliminate 2 senate and 6 assembly majority districts while professing to provide more minority "Opportunity districts" with 50% districts of color, totally miss the intent and benefited of the VRA, majority districts, END of story."
In other news, last Friday, October 29, 2021, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors approved Redistricting Map K1 on a vote of 10-7, which the Independent Redistricting Committee (IRC) including the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SWRPC) recommended to create an additional majority district with 70% of Latino majority in Supervisor District 4 and keep the existing Latino majority district in Supervisor District 12 with a 67% Latino majority, in addition it created a 18.9% of Latino voting-age population in Supervisor District 15.
The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisor's approved K1 redistricting maps created 9 White majority districts and 9 minority majority districts that included 2 Latino strong majority districts and 6 Black majority districts and 1 diverse minority district.
Milwaukee County Supervisor Sylvia Ortiz-Velez who voted in favor of the K1 maps says, that the 9 White majority and the 9 minority majority Supervisor Districts was the most equitable maps passed by the County Board in decades and in Milwaukee County's redistricting maps history. Supervisor Ortiz-Velez also confirmed that the County Board of Supervisors did not change or eliminated one block of what both the IRC and SWRPC had recommended and kept their recommendation intact to create two Latino majority districts.
According to press release by Supervisor Ortiz-Velez,
Members of the IRC and SEWRPC Executive Director Kevin Muhs acknowledged multiple times that because the county’s Latino population resides overwhelmingly in an area bordered on the north by the Milwaukee River, east by I-43/94, west by 70th Street, and south by Layton Avenue, creating more than two Latino districts could dilute the Latino vote.
IRC Chair Judge Jean DiMotto wrote, “We did look at the possibility of three [Latino] districts, but this would have significantly diluted the voting power of the Hispanic/Latinx population in two of the three proposed districts.”
“Adopting a map that had multiple districts with only slight Latino-majorities would have jeopardized potential Latino candidates and placed us right back where we are today, with only one real Latino-majority district,” added Supervisor Ortiz-Velez. “Public input further confirmed that our community preferred to have two secure districts to elect candidates of our choice and ensure that the Latino vote and voice is not diluted. This new map will provide hope and a path to actionable change for Milwaukee’s Hispanic and Latino community. Our children can finally see multiple leaders who look like them—that is what I call a successful map.”
Under the current supervisory district map, District 8 is the only district where Milwaukee’s South Side Latino community can safely elect a representative from their own community.
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