Many of you may have not seen this yet, but here is this morning's Daily Herald:
Redistricting remains an issue for Spring Hill
By Nancy Glasscock
Staff Writer
SPRING HILL: Alderman Jonathan Duda said Monday citizens would be most fairly represented by a city government in which four aldermen are elected at-large and four are elected by the wards they represent.
Duda said according to a February 2004 MTAS opinion written by Senior Law Consultant Sid Hemsley and requested by Spring Hill city officials, the city's current at-large voting system does not allow for fair representation of all wards, though Hemsley acknowledges in the opinion the issue may be a very close question.
The opinion states, "where a charter mandates both that wards be established and that persons elected to represent those wards line in the wards they represent, but is silent as to the voting base from which such persons are to be elected, the Tennessee courts would require they be elected only by the voters in those wards."
State Rep. Glen Casada, R-College Grove, said recently he and Sen. Jim Bryson, R-Franklin, will attend the Feb. 21 regular meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to talk with Spring Hill city officials in hopes of inspiring a reapportionment of the city's aldermanic wards.
According to results from a 2005 special city-wide census, Ward 2 contains 13,609 residents while Ward 1 contains 1,810 and Wards 3 and 4 have 1,040 and 866 residents, respectively. Casada said he received numerous calls from residents complaining about unfair representation resulting from population differences between the wards. Casada said he and Bryson will present a draft of a bill that could become law in March, though any specifics of the bill have yet to be finalized.
Alderwoman Sharron Cantrell said she fears Spring Hill would become a "good old boy network" if the way the city's aldermen are elected is altered.
"I think they're fairly represented," she said. "I have people from all wards calling me and that's one of the things I particularly like about the politics of Spring Hill. If someone feels comfortable calling me from another ward, I think that's good."
Cantrell said she does not anticipate a lawsuit by citizens alleging unfair representation and maintained the Board of Mayor and Aldermen make decisions based on the good of the city as a whole.
"If some of this is done, you're going to have a real case of the good old boy politics, and that's what I'd hate to see happen in Spring Hill," she said.
Cantrell said most citizens she has spoken with feel they are fairly represented by the city's current election system, while Duda said more than a few people are leading the charge for reapportionment. "When I was running for aldermen and knocking on doors campaigning, it's one of the biggest issues I've found citizens to be aware of and ask me about," he said. "A statement that it's only a few people, I don't think it's accurate at all."
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Ms. Cantrell, I agree with you in your concerns about a Good 'ol boy network developing. I am however on the other side of this...
I would argue that a network has already begun. I know that you are a very intelligent woman, and would be capable of looking at this through a different perspective. I would ask you to read this definition that I have provided below, and answer for me one little question.
Definition of Good 'ol Boy Network on wikipedia
Who is currently being excluded?
* With 90% of the population coming from Wards 1 and 2...
* With 80% of the population coming from Ward 2 alone...
* With 5 of 8 Aldermen running unopposed...
* With Aldermen from Ward 2 (and in some cases Ward 1) running against intense competition, but very little if any competition in Wards 3 and 4...
Who is currently being excluded?
Please, someone let us all know how it makes sense to not allow this community to remain flexible as the population changes? As this city grows, this problem will only become more apparent.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Good 'ol Boy Network
Posted by Gorilla in the Corner at 9:08 AM
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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is a series of personal opinions and is not meant to reflect an official position by the City of Spring Hill.
9 comments:
"four aldermen are elected at-large and four are elected by the wards they represent"
Like in Franklin?
We don't here too much about Good Ol' Boy Politics in Franklin, do we?
You are right like Franklin and every other city in America that follows the correct standards for apportionment. Please understand this is not a move to become Franklin but create the correct amount of leverage within the wards.
Good ole' boy network? That's what we have now! Go to the meetings and you will see the power of developers. They love Spring Hill because they can build with lower standards, low impact fees, and few landscape restrictions.
And it is all about fairness in voting. Why should less that 20% of the city dominate government and thwart what the other 80% want!
How is this for Good Old Boy Politics?
Mayor brokers deal with Local Developer to "Donate" land to Williamson County for Rec Center in exchange for increased density in Local Developer's development.
Mayor sells his 211 acre farm in November 2004 to Local Developer.
When Williamson County comes to the BOMA to ask for partnership, Wife of late mayor tries to kill the deal (she sends email to some of the aldermen encouraging them to vote against the deal).
To everyone's surprise, the BOMA approves $4 million to partner with Williamson County on the Rec Center.
Williamson County Commissioner who lives in Local Developer's Brentwood Exclusive Community vehemently fights against the Williamson County - Spring Hill Rec Center and tries to kill the deal.
Williamson County begins 4 month due diligence process on Local Developer's "donated" land.
To everyone's surprise, much of the land that the developer has "donated" is determined by Williamson County to be unusable as it is located in the flood plain.
Williamson County agrees to buy land next to another of Local Developer's development for a school and a rec center.
In astonishing speed (less than 2 weeks), Williamson County performs due diligence on new site for school and approves the purchase of this land.
Do you think that the Local Developer and the late mayor ever intended for the "donated" land to be a rec center?
What's going to happen to Local Developer's land now that the Williamson County Rec Center site has moved?
Good Old Boy Politics
Good Old Boy,
Oh boy...
It seems to me that there's a lot of 'what ifs' that would have to fall into place for this scenario to be true. Any proof?
From the Wikipedia Definition:
"In some areas, the good ol' boy network is said to still exert considerable influence over many aspects of local government...
...Usage of the term can often imply a wrongful exclusion of others from the network"
and also:
"Alleged effects of the network include ensuring that the leaders of a community can limit business transactions to other elites, or to friends or acquaintances from within the network, to give friends better deals, and generally to reinforce traditional power structures over any other elements in the society."
hmm....
On 14 February, 2006 17:47 Anonymous said:
"Good ole' boy network? That's what we have now! Go to the meetings and you will see the power of developers. They love Spring Hill because they can build with lower standards, low impact fees, and few landscape restrictions.
And it is all about fairness in voting. Why should less that 20% of the city dominate government and thwart what the other 80% want!"
But...
That 80% are the ones living in the higher density, lower standard, few landscape restriction areas... How does that play into things?
You are so right. The good ol boy network is alive and well in spring hill.
i know i is one.
Well I was absolutely shocked, at how Alderman Cantrell acted tonight. She says that she represents us, yet she has the gall to imply that the system we have now is fair.
Our state, and federal govt. have sytems ( senate and representative) that let all be represented. The idea of 4 at large (who gets the most votes) and 4 (1 for each ward) seems like an excellent idea
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