CHARLOTTE Local Charlotte News — Almost twenty people showed up to give their take on the Queen City’s potential new districts during Monday night’s Charlotte City Council meeting. Gathering public input is a big step in the redistricting process and Charlottean’s didn’t hold back.
The majority of residents who showed up were from the Hidden Valley neighborhood in Northeast Charlotte. They are opposed to map options B, B1, and C, but are in favor of map A. They don’t want their district to be moved, and map A is the only option that keeps District 4 where it currently sits.
The opposition was led by a former District 4 council candidate, Charlene Henderson. Henderson claims the other maps result in a denial or dilution of the Voting Rights Act. She said maps B and C are racially discriminatory to black voters in the Hidden Valley neighborhood. The City Attorney denied these claims, as did most of the Council.
“I’m the Vice President of Hidden Valley Neighborhood Association. This is my community. We’re saying no, Mr. Dean and Miss Charlene have absolutely give you the definition of what’s supposed to be according to the law. So we actually like to listen to the law. And if you don’t listen to the law, we’re going to take you to court and have another fight,” one of the Hidden Valley residents said.
Councilman Ed Driggs said Map A was supposed to serve only for informational purposes, and not as a viable option, because it doesn’t meet any of the Redistricting Ad-Hoc Committee’s criteria.
