Casada and Bryson Call for Reapportionment of Wards

For those that have not read “The Advertiser News” there is a fantastic Article on the front page by Melissa Webb. I will post it here for you all to read.

Casada and Bryson Call for a Reapportionment of Wards

By Melissa Webb

“It is time that all cities draw lines for their wards so that one man equals one vote,” says State Representative for the 63rd District Glen Casada. “It seems logical that all Tennesseans be fairly represented. The Legislative body should be the voice of all citizens.”

Casada and State Senator, Jim Bryson, are calling for the City of Spring Hill to initiate a reassignment of Aldermanic Wards. Currently, Spring Hill is represented by two Aldermen from each of four wards. Talk of reapportionment of the wards heated up when the under representation of Ward 2 became apparent during the last Spring Hill election in April 2005. During that election, candidates for two Aldermanic positions ran unopposed; Aldermen Charles Raines in Ward 4 and Alderman Domingo Gallardo in Ward 3. A total of eight candidates ran for the position in Ward 2 with Alderman Jonathan Duda winning the majority of votes.

“I have had many conversations with constituents regarding this topic,” says Casada. “It is true that many people I have spoken with feel very strongly about the issue. Populations should be represented equally. Equal representation should apply to everyone in Tennessee.”

Casada and Bryson will be talking with a legislative attorney to review compliance with Tennessee Code Annotated. They plan to prepare a draft of a bill to be presented to the Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen at their regular meeting in February. Both Casada and Bryson plan to be in attendance to present their case to the board. “We are really hoping that Spring Hill will address this issue independently without the legislative body of the state having to intervene,” says Casada. “We want local issues to be resolved by locals whenever possible.”

After presenting the draft of the bill to the board in February, Casada and Bryson will go forward with moving the bill into law. The bill could become law as early as March or April of this year. Casada maintains that the intention is not to place a financial burden on the city. “For the sake of Spring Hill financially, we do not want this issue to be a burden,” says Casada. “We realize that Spring Hill is not scheduled to hold another election until 2007 and that having an earlier one could be costly. The logistics of how the reapportionment could be carried out are yet to be determined.” The bill would also allow for a 5% variance.

“Spring Hill needs to have the same number of people in each ward,” Says Casada. “I cannot emphasize enough that Senator Bryson and I are both hoping that Spring Hill will address the reapportionment of the wards on their own. If that happens, we may be willing to withdraw the bill. There are very few things that would precipitate getting the legislative body of the state involved in a local issue. Representation that offers one man, one vote is one of them.”