Lee County commissioners pick a new districting map

On November 2, 2021 the Lee Board of County Commissioners directed Map Alternative 5 to be published for adoption consideration on November 16, 2021

Maintain the status quo or make a change.

There’s a new hurdle in the fight for representation as Lee County commissioners pick a new districting map with few changes despite calls from minority groups.

Those minority groups said their voices were not heard.

Tuesday night’s redistricting debate came down to seven different maps, but Lee County commissioners could only pick one.

Many organizations spoke in favor of a map that joins Dunbar with the city of Fort Myers.

The NAACP favored a different map which created a majority-minority district combining metropolitan Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres.

But in the end, three out of five commissioners chose the map that maintained the status quo.

“That’s why I picked map 5, it has the least changes,” said Lee County Commissioner Cecil Pendergrass.

Lee County commissioners and the county attorney said the new map meets the legal criteria, but nothing is final until the commissioners officially adopt the new map on Nov. 16.

The NAACP and other organizations said they will explore every option to get a more representative map, including taking the county to court.

“I get very uncomfortable when we start dividing ourselves by any racial issue,” said Lee County Commissioner Ray Sandelli. “The biggest thing for me is where is the equity big picture and numbers because everybody counts.”

But those against the chosen map feel like they don’t count or like their voices are heard.

“After 10 years, they kept the status quo and everything remains the same which leads me to believe they’re not listening to the community, they’re not listening to the minorities,” said Mike Love, co-chairperson for the redistricting committee for the NAACP.

“It’s about the law. It’s about the constitution. It’s about the Voting Rights Act,” Love said. “We want to be able to choose the person that we think will best represent our interests.”

Love said he and others are not ready to let it go.

The map commissioners chose gerrymanders Dunbar, Fort Myers’ predominantly Black community, said Audrea Anderson, with Southwest Florida Voices for Racial Justice.

“It was a total lack of sensitivity to members of a community,” Anderson said.