Winter Park commissioners nix putting single-member districts on March ballot

WINTER PARK, Fla. — Winter Park City Commissioners shut down the idea of allowing voters to weigh in on whether the city will switch to single-member districts for commissioners.

Had the ordinance passed, it would have been on the March ballot.

Supporters said the change could have increased representation for minority communities on a currently all-white commission.

READ: Winter Park activists pushing to change how city commission is elected to give Black community a voice

Right now each commissioner is elected by the entire city of about 30,000 residents. If the change were approved, the city would be divided into districts with each district electing its own commissioner to the board.

“Simply stated, it is the way to bring in representation, whether it’s geographic, whether it’s ethnicity... It is a way to have adequate representation and to make everyone in every neighborhood feel that they have someone who can understand their concerns,” said Barbara Chandler of the Coalition for Access and Representation.

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Things got heated during the commission’s meeting Wednesday night. The vote was tied to put the issue on the March ballot.

Sources said that one of the commissioners who would have backed the ordinance was not at the meeting, and that the tie vote means the ordinance will not move forward.

Supporters of the single-member districts believe this is the only way to get equal representation on the commission.

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Chandler said Black residents in Hannibal Square have been fighting this for years. They presented a petition to the commissioners during Wednesday’s meeting.

“That petition we got slightly over 100 names, not just from the Hannibal Square area but from other neighborhoods and communities in Winter Park,” she said.

Chandler said despite Wednesday’s defeat, the fight is not over.

“We are weighing our options of how do we pursue this again. What are the policies that the city has in place under the charter that we can continue to move this forward,” she said.

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Mayor Steve Leary released a statement on the issue Thursday afternoon. He said, in part:

“I continue to support the effort to have a community discussion on this topic … If after these sessions residents feel strongly that changing our form of government is wise they can either initiate a citizen petition or convince a majority of the city commission to place this on the ballot next election cycle.”