Map 1

District 5 resident Calvin Pham’s map was the first up for discussion during the nearly two-hour meeting. It was sponsored by committee member J. Gordon Spears, who said he thought the map was "successful in a number of ways,” particularly Pham’s attempt to “establish a second urban Orlando district” with District 7. 

Pham explained he created the map with core principles in mind, like not splitting any voting precincts so the Supervisor of Elections wouldn’t have to issue new voter IDs, and allowing flexibility for future redistricting, which occurs every 10 years following the U.S. Census. But his map would also split Apopka, Orlando and Winter Park as well as what are called “communities of interest” — areas where residents have the same economic or housing interests — such as Alafaya, Clarcona, Conway, Horizon West, Lake Butler, Pine Hills and South Apopka.

Plus, it shifted the historically Black community Tangelo Park, out of District 6, which also includes Pine Hills, Orlovista and Oak Ridge, into District 3. That sparked spirited discussion on the makeup of District 6 where 48 percent of its voters are Black. 

Committee member James Auffant reminded the committee that there had been a push to create two Black majority districts and noted that efforts to structure Districts 7 and 8 as “heavily white” rather than with Black or Hispanic majorities were “concerning.” 

“This map is the first one that comes here and says, ‘Hey, let's create a strong District 6 and forget about creating a second African American district,’” Auffant said. “So maybe that's something that needs to be discussed.”

He asked Jason Henry, the committee’s District 6 representative, what he thought about prioritizing one “strong District 6” over the two majority districts. Henry said it was not up to committee members to decide for the public but expressed concern that compacting Black constituents and limiting them to a single  representative could hurt their interests. 

“Let's not get into the idea of packing Black people, or minorities in general, just into one area,” he said. 

The committee voted down the map 13 to 1. 

Map 2 

In her presentation, former Orlando City Council member Vicki Vargo said that her map, sponsored by committee member Joe Kilsheimer, was similar to the existing district map and would also make redistricting in 2030 easier by creating a district that would not require any changes within the next five years. She was referring to her map’s District 6, which she said would “donate” Pine Hills to a new District 7 and would potentially not have to be altered because of future development or population growth until 2040. 

“I don't have any problem putting Pine Hills with Winter Park, because I think that there are opportunities for representation to help Pine Hills move forward,” Vargo said. 

District 6's Henry took issue with that idea. “Not because I have anything against Winter Park,” he said, “but because of where Pine Hills is matched now, they are matched with communities of the same interest and Winter Park and Matiland likely do not have the same interests as Pine Hills.”

Pine Hills is currently split between Districts 2 and 6, and its residents have continually asked committee members to approve a map that would bring the community together into a single district.

While Vargo’s map would not split Pine Hills, it would split Orlando, Winter Garden and Winter Park as well as Alafaya, Azalea Park and Lockhart. It would also split 12 voting precincts — something the Supervisor of Elections has asked the committee to avoid.

Committee member Bobby Olszewski said the map has the “number one spot” in his mind, but others like Angel de la Portilla were concerned the map would dilute the Black vote in District 6. 

“You didn't even try to create a second African American district, because we've seen maps come in that have a drop in the voting age population in District 6, but it's picked up elsewhere,” de la Portilla said. “This map does not do that.”

The committee voted down the map 12 to 2.  

Map 3

Submitted by data scientist and District 3 resident James Callahan, this final map of the evening, sponsored by David Washington, relied on legislative boundaries to create districts to avoid “making race the primary criteria,” he explained. 

“On one hand, we want to create a Pine Hills district but if we start from scratch and say we're creating a Pine Hills district, then we're open to attack saying that, ‘Oh, that's a racial gerrymander,’” Callahan said. “‘Even though we're under obligation to create two new districts, well, why are you creating one in Pine Hills?’”

He went on to explain that the neighborhood is completely within State Senate District 11. Those existing legislative boundaries have already been vetted, Callahan said, and so would serve as a “good starting point.”

Still, the map split many municipalities, including Apopka, Belle Isle, Ocoee, Orlando, Winter Garden and Winter Park. It also split communities of interest Alafaya, Clarcona, Fairview Shores, Horizon West, Hunters Creek, Pine Castle, South Apopka and Union Park and one voting precinct. 

Committee member Alejandro Pezzini said he felt Callahan’s changes to the Black voting age population in District 6 were “too significant.”

“I'm looking at this effort to move Pine Hills into a single district, and I'm not sure it's feasible to do that without sacrificing District 6 as a whole,” Pezzini said. “I'm still trying to wrap my head around it, and I know there have been a lot of folks that came from Pine Hills and spoke of it, but I'm not certain we can accomplish having Pine Hills within a single district without modifying the composition of District 6 as is today.”

Henry said although he did not support the map he looked forward to another proposed map from Callahan that was “trending in the right direction.” Henry added that a map submitted by the Pine Hills Community Council would also soon be up for discussion. 

“As we continue to draw these, if we do split Pine Hills, just to be frank, it is going to change what District 6 looks like,” Henry said. “This is kind of where we're at.”

A motion was made to approve Callahan’s map, but failed to gain enough votes to pass and was ultimately rejected by a vote of 10 to 4.

More maps wanted

Committee Co-Chair Tico Perez put out the call to the public for more map submissions. Only one map has been accepted by the committee and may end up being recommended to the Orange County Commission in September. The committee will consider eight more maps at the next meeting on July 9. 

There is still time to submit maps before the deadline at 11:59 p.m. on July 3

“If you're in the public asking for someone to carry a map for you, spread out the wealth and just see. If one person doesn't do it, another one may very well,” Perez said. 

Perez concluded the meeting by saying the committee is at the point in the redistricting process where it will “start getting hard.” 

Each of the six existing districts must be trimmed by 60,000 to 70,000 residents to create the two new districts. 

Mike Scott, Orange County Commissioner for District 6, asked the committee to consider how “you capture the essence of any given district and also the entirety of Orange County?” 

“We're going to have some tough conversations and some tough decisions to make,” Perez said.