Press Releases

To say that I am deeply disappointed by the Florida Supreme Court's decision to approve the redistricting map drawn by the Fair Districts Coalition is a gross understatement. From the start, I strongly opposed the map known as CP-1 because it strips from District 24 several economic drivers and cultural attractions and threatens to return our community to its former status as the nation's "most suffering" district. CP-1 removes from the district PortMiami, Bayside marketplace, AmericanAirlines Arena, Watson Island, Jungle Island/Parrot Island, and Bayfront Park, to name a few.

I had hoped that the court would recognize that this map is not only an unwarranted attempt to reverse the gains made in the past few years, but also creates an area of economic apartheid. The fact that there were no voters at stake because these economic catalysts are located on nonresidential land -- and represented the only wealth the district has -- makes the map particularly egregious. Why take away from people who already have so little?

Despite this terrible setback which, ironically, was set in motion by Democrats, as the founder of the Congressional Florida Ports Caucus, I will continue to consider PortMiami a corporate neighbor and convene the caucus to fight on its behalf. Ensuring that the port has all of the federal resources it needs to sustain and create jobs is good for Florida's economy and workforce, and good for my constituents.

While not as blatant as the "whites" and "coloreds only" signs that were once fixtures at public facilities before African Americans and other people of color were able to vote, the map is almost as discriminatory. Isolating poor people in one district is an indefensible violation of the spirit of the Voting Rights Act and the map created by the Fair Districts Coalition is anything but fair.