Failing legal review 

But even in “crunch time,” the map submitted by resident James Hunter and sponsored by Spears, did not sway the committee. Members quickly shot it down in an 11 to 3 vote (with Alejandro Pezzini absent) amid concerns about minority representation in District 6. That district encompasses Pine Hills, Orlovista and Oak Ridge. 

During his presentation, Hunter said his map’s new district outlines maintained the structure of four districts of the county's current map.  

“I'm sure that's what you want, to have an easy blend from six districts to eight," Hunter said.

But the map had problems even before Hunter’s presentation started: For starters, it did not pass legal review. Shonda White, Orange County assistant county attorney, said the map as drawn violates a state statute that dictates when commissioners representing odd- and even-numbered districts are elected. According to state statute 100.041 (2)(a), commissioners from odd-numbered districts are elected in years that are multiples of four; commissioners in even-numbered districts are elected in even-numbered years that are not multiples of four. This is to allow for staggered election cycles and ensures there is continuity on the commission. White said the map changed a currently odd-numbered district to an even one but kept the incumbent within the district boundary. 

“That numbering would have to be changed,” White said. “Counsel would suggest swapping what is the newly drawn District 5 with what is presently numbered as District 8 to satisfy that.”

The map also proposed splitting several municipalities including Orlando, Oakland, Ocoee, Winter Garden and Winter Park, along with the communities Alafaya and Azaela Park. The map also divided four voting precincts, which the Supervisor of Elections Office had requested not be done to avoid incurring the cost of issuing new voter ID cards and confusion for voters locating new polling locations.

Finally, there were issues with minority representation since the map included no majority minority districts, although it did create pluralities of Hispanic voters in Districts 4 and 7 and pluralities of Black voters in Districts 5 and 6, according to White. 

In a majority minority district, the minority demographic will likely control an election’s outcome based on a voting population greater than 50 percent. In a plurality district, a specific demographic isn’t quite large enough to be the majority but could influence an election if aided by crossover votes from other demographics.  

Preserving district “integrity” 

Before diving into the nitty gritty map details, District 6 Orange County Commissioner Mike Scott shared a picture of the mural in his office, featuring images of local Black leaders. He said it was a “representation of District 6.”

“I put this mural on my wall to remind me of the giants and history makers that came before me,” Scott said, pointing to figures like the late State Sen. Geraldine F. Thompson, who he said led the college outreach program he attended in middle school at Valencia West Campus. “And not only African American history, but Orange County history, Orlando history, American history.” 

That “rich” history applies to District 6 and its communities like Pine Hills, Scott said — areas that he urged committee members to consider when thinking about maintaining Black and Hispanic representation in his district and others. 

“I just feel like I have to represent the history and the legacy that got me to this point,” Scott said. “When you listen to the voices that will tell you Pine Hills needs to be in one district, I think … representation means having a voting block and a voice at the table, ideally more than one voice, to be able to tell a story like yours, whatever that may be, wherever you may be from.” 

Scott’s plea to maintain District 6’s current demographics appeared to resonate with several committee members. 

Bobby Olszewski said that as a District 1 representative, splitting areas like Oakland, Ocoee and Winter Garden and other communities was concerning. He recalled that when he was a state representative in the Florida House in 2017, he represented the Tangelo Park community, a historically Black neighborhood in District 6 that was built on land originally used for orange groves.

“Seeing them removed from their traditional district, and especially with the inspiring words we just heard from Commissioner Mike Scott, I think that's going to be a big problem for the residents in that community,” Olszewski said. 

Committee member Jason Henry was also a firm no because it excises Tangelo Park and “changes the tenor of District 6.” 

Committee Co-Chair Tico Perez said the map had “good bones” but that ultimately he could not support it either.

”I'm not going to support it for the Tangelo Park reasons, and I'm not crazy about splitting up [cities in] the west, but I think this just requires some tweaking,” he said. ”I want to encourage you to continue to tweak and resubmit.” 

Perez also encouraged members to take a second look at some of the maps the committee had rejected previously. “It's time to start looking at those and tweaking and resubmitting,” he said.

After the District 6 discussion, Henry said residents and members of the Pine Hills Community Council planned to submit their own maps, one of which he intended to sponsor. 

“I do want us to be a little bit more cognizant of how some of these maps have been drawn as relates to District 6,” Henry said. “When I look at some of the maps and how they're drawn, it gives me a little bit of pause just because I see how much the voting-age population for African Americans has been diluted in some of those maps.”

Henry said that while it’s not his “chief concern,” he still wants the committee to be mindful of preserving the integrity and history of the district for constituents. 

“If you take Pine Hills out of the district completely, that changes the integrity of the district,” Henry said. “I understand that growth is all around us. Each constituency wants their own type of representation, and I know that we're all working hard to get there, but again, as we're submitting maps, just consider how [District] 6 is looking.”

It’s a concern Auffant echoed, adding that he had not supported the original idea of creating two additional districts when that was on the November ballot. He said he’d already been concerned about representation issues he believed would arise from having to remove at least 60,000 people from District 6, adding that together, African American and Hispanic populations make up a majority of Orange County.

“For some reason, we're creating maps where it's okay for Hispanics to have 20 percent of the representation and whites to have almost 60 percent of the representation in these maps,” Auffant said. “That is something that, yes, I do take offense as a Hispanic, and I want that known, and I'm not going to hide it … The problem is that everybody needs to lose 70,000 people, and it's kind of difficult, and the district that's most penalized is 6 because of that.”

The committee will next meet June 18 at the Orange County Administration Center in the Board of County Commissioners Chambers. During that meeting, three maps currently under legal review will be presented, including a third map from Spears and the first maps from committee members Joe Kilsheimer and David Washington. You can view the maps here.