civil rights

A coalition of diverse groups from across the city is prepared to sue the city over a new redistricting map positioned to be voted on tomorrow at the weekly City Council meeting. If this map, Docket #0985 (Linehan) is introduced and seven or more councilors vote in favor, it goes to the Mayor for his signature (9 votes will override a veto by the Mayor). Upon passage of this map, the coalition is preparing for a lawsuit against the city, on the grounds that the packing of District 4 is in direct violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race. In the proposed map, the population of people of color ranges from a high of 95.3% in D4 to a low of 31.6% in D2.