Oliver Offers Redistricting Amendment, Hints At Legal Action

Councilman Ken Oliver hopes to resolve an ongoing dispute with Councilman Tom Quirk over a single election precinct with an amendment to a proposed redistricting plan.

And if that doesn't work, Oliver said he is prepared to challenge the redistricting plan in court.

The , which the council will debate on Tuesday, moves the Woodlawn High School precinct, located north of I-70, to Quirk's district.

"I was a little (upset) about it," Oliver said of the proposal brought forth by the county's first Redistricting Commission.

Oliver has opposed the move because the precinct, populated by voters who are predominantly African-American, is home to the Social Security complex and the focus of economic redevelopment efforts. in August that they believed the precinct had more in common with areas that would remain in Oliver's 4th District then they do in the 1st District represented by Quirk.

In an interview Thursday, Oliver said the move would reduce the population of his district from the current 117,000 to about 110,000. The move would increase the population in Quirk's district by more 6,300 residents to more than 115,000 residents.

"You can't take my district down from 117,000 to 110,000," Oliver said.

The three-term Democrat said he has drafted an amendment to the plan introduced last month. Oliver's proposal would pull the Woodlawn High School precinct back into the 4th District and move Featherbed Lane Elementary and its 4,100 residents into Quirk's district.

The move would make the two districts essentially equal in size in terms of population, Oliver said.

Oliver said he's shown it to other members of the council and believes he has the support to pass it. If the amendment fails, Oliver said he'll challenge the plan in court on the basis of an inequitable distribution of voters.

Oliver has not talked to Quirk about his idea. He said the two have barely spoken since the redistricting commission released it's plan.

"The others were talking to each other and getting their differences straightened out," Oliver said, adding that he was at a loss to explain why the two weren't talking.

"I know I was taking showers," Oliver said. "I don't know what the problem is."

Quirk said last month the he is ". That's where I'm at."