City Council Redistricting Leaves Candidates Out of Election

Despite concerns from residents, the St. Petersburg redistricting commission moved forward Tuesday night with a 5-4 vote in favor of Plan 7.

Linda Luca, chair of the commission, previously voted in favor of the plan but changed her decision last night. Despite her lack of approval, it did not change the outcome.

The commission has until Feb. 15 to give council its recommendation. Council has until May 12 to complete redistricting.

"We have a plan. Thank you all for what you did to get us here and good luck to the candidates that are going to be running," Lucas said.

As previously reported on Patch, this plan prevents two potential District 4 city council candidates from running.

Dr. David McKalip and Darden Rice currently live in District 4. Under the new map, they would now be in District 3, a seat held by council member Bill Dudley, who is still in the middle of his term. Council member Leslie Curran, who is ineligible to run again because of term limits, currently holds the District 4 seat.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, McKalip urged commissioners to seek outside advice. He thanked the group for its work but said it was "a corrupt process" during the hearing.

Under the proposed plan, each district would have about 30,600 residents, according to the Times.

For more information about the City Council Redistricting Commission, check out the City of St. Petersburg website.

Related Coverage

• Redistricting Leaves Council Candidates Scrambling
• City Council Redistricting Hearing Tonight
  
• St. Pete Set for Redistricting
  

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