ORANGE COUNTY REDISTRICTING

State Democrats indicate they want two Black, two Hispanic districts in Orange County district reorganization

By: Norine Dworkin | Editor in Chief

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April 23, 2025

The Democrats of the Orange County Legislative Delegation sent a letter Wednesday to the county’s Mid-Decennial Redistricting Advisory Committee that “strongly encourages” its members to “ensure that minority communities are fairly represented” during the redistricting process by drawing maps with two predominantly Black districts and at least two predominantly Hispanic districts.

The April 23 letter describes the redistricting process as “one of the most consequential decisions in our democracy” because the process “determines whether communities have the opportunity to elect representatives who reflect their interests and lived experiences.” It states that securing fair representation for “communities that have too often been left out or silenced in the decision-making process” is a “matter of good governance, civil rights and fundamental fairness.”

The letter is signed by State Sens. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Kristen Arrington and State Reps. LaVon Bracy Davis, Bruce Antone, Anna V. Eskamani, Johanna Lopez, Rita Harris and Leonard Spencer.

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The Mid-Decennial Redistricting Advisory Committee hears public comment during its April 23, 2025, meeting at the West Orange Recreation Center in Winter Garden. The Democrats representing the county in Tallahassee have asked committee members to ensure that communities of color are fairly represented during the redistricting process.

Norine Dworkin

The letter was to be read into the record Wednesday during the advisory committee’s seventh meeting held in District 1 at the West Orange Recreation Center in Winter Garden.

The letter’s authors point to the 2020 Census data, showing Orange County to be “approximately 37 percent white, 33 percent Hispanic, 22 percent Black and 7 percent Asian American and Pacific Islander.

“The new maps must reflect this reality,” the letter states.

Of the two Black districts suggested by Democrat lawmakers, one would be centered in Pine Hills with the other in the “historic Black neighborhoods of West Orlando,” according to the letter. For the Hispanic districts, one would be “based in the historic Hispanic community of East Orlando, including Azalea Park and South Goldenrod, and the other should be “in the growing Hispanic population of South Orange County.”

The redistricting process was mandated by ballot initiative in November when voters approved a measure by nearly 51 percent to increase representation on the Board of County Commissioners from six to eight commissioners. New commissioners will be elected in 2026.