Retaining Terrebonne’s minority district next challenge

The good news is that Terrebonne Parish has become far more integrated during the past decade. The challenge is meeting government requirements for fair representation, based on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that mandates having at least one majority minority district, when there is more balance in the population than there has ever been in the region.

Members of the Terrebonne Parish Council redistricting committee and representatives from the South Central Planning and Development Commission poured over statistical charts and mapping options last Tuesday in an effort to come up with a plan that meets U.S. Justice Department criteria and can be presented to the public on April 13.

According to census statistics, the two primarily black districts in Terrebonne Parish, represented by councilpersons Alvin Tillman (Dist. 1) and Arlanda Williams (Dist. 2) each currently have 51 percent black populations. At the same time, Tillman’s district has lost overall population by 20 percent and Williams is down 10 percent.

An ideal population for each of nine districts is 12,429, which means Dist. 1 is short by 2,460 and Dist. 2 is down by 1,238. Both of those districts need to have lines shifted to come within an accepted range for ideal population levels while avoiding a move that would lower minority numbers beyond their current amounts.

Other areas of representation that lost population from 2000 to 2010 include Dist. 5, represented by councilman Johnny Pizzolatto, which saw an overall 6 percent decline in residents, but which has only an 18 percent black population.

Councilman Joey Cehan’s Dist. 8 had a 15 percent decline in population, but has only 10 percent black population, and Dist. 9, represented by Councilman Pete Lambert showed a 9 percent decline in population but only a 2 percent level of black residents.

The parish district with the greatest population gain in 10 years – but is 3,814 over the ideal population – is Dist. 6 represented by Councilman Kevin Voisin. That district has only a 7 percent black population.

Both Dist. 3, represented by Councilman Billy Hebert, and Dist. 4, with Teri Cavalier, saw a 12 percent population growth during the past decade. Each district is approximately 11 percent over the ideal population level. There is only a difference of 8 people between their respective districts. While Dist. 3 is 12 percent black, Dist. 4 marks a minority level of 17 percent.

Dist. 7, represented by Council Chairman Clayton Voisin, saw a 5 percent population increase, is 679 more than the ideal population and black residents total 13 percent in that area.

SCPDC CEO Kevin Belanger and his staff presented three options for the committee to consider with the understanding that no final decision would be made at this meeting.

The first district mapping alternative was met with general disapproval that could have reduced the concentration of black representation and prompted Williams to say out loud, “Oh, no way.”

A second alternative map would have increased minority representation in Dist. 1 only one half of a percentage point and less than a third of a percentage point in Dist. 2.

A third alternative received unanimous supportive comments by committee members as being the best of three options.

This alternative, if approved by the committee and the full council, would be presented to the public for consideration, but must secure final approval from the Justice Department before it can be implemented.

The third alternative district map would come within an allotted deviation range of voters to meet ideal population requirements, with lines slightly moved into neighboring districts to give both Dist. 1 and Dist. 2 black populations of 53 percent, and in turn satisfy federal representation requirements. The remaining districts saw only slight population changes, based on suggest lines with the third district map, and insignificant shifts in racial complexity.

“I’m hoping we can get plan three, the one that would be the least challenged, and that way we an opportunity of getting this right the first time,” Williams said. “All of [the alternative maps] need a little tweaking, but three is the best one.”

Pizzolatto said the meeting was informative although no final decision was made. “We are not completely firm. But the black districts having a better percentage of people in them and should work well with the Justice Department,” he said.

“My district wasn’t affected in any one of the three [alternative plans]. It is a compact district,” Hebert said. “But I think option 3 would be the best suited for the minority districts in Terrebonne Parish and they are drawn to where they would be a lot more representative of the minorities than it is today.”

“I think we had a very lucrative meeting well represented by everyone in the committee and several people from the public,” Clayton Voisin said. “It appears that the last plan that [SCPDC] gave could become the best plan as far as redistricting and holding minority district in tact and at the same time not making large changes to any of the other districts.”

Voisin said that redistricting in Terrebonne Parish is a challenge this time because of increased integration. “It makes it difficult to carve out a district that has just one minority group. We have blacks, whites, Indians, Asians, and we are very well represented in this parish. This is no problem. The problem is having to cut out blocks to be able to formulate two primarily minority districts,” he said.

“I think that there is a challenge for us, but certainly we can make this in a way that it is appealing to all the councilmen and also to the public,” Belanger said. “We have some huge problems to get over, which is providing the concentration of minorities in the two black districts and maintaining a high concentration of black majority. In doing that we are forced to make changes to the other districts. At the end of the day I think we will come to an amicable solution for all.”

Terrebonne Parish Councilwoman Arlanda Williams studies one of three redistricting maps being considered for district realignment. MIKE NIXON