Below is the heading and paragraphs 1-2, and 19-24 of the class action lawsuit filed today against Sarasota County, charging three Commissioners with violating the US Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act:
The entire suit is here.
Plaintiffs, FREDD ATKINS, MICHAEL WHITE and MARY MACK, individually and on behalf of a class of all others similarly situated, sue Defendants, SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA, NANCY C. DETERT, in her capacity as a member of the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners, MICHAEL A. MORAN, in his capacity as a member of the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners, and ALAN MAIO, in his capacity as a member of the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners, and allege as follows:
1. Sarasota County and its Board of County Commissioners (collectively, the “County Commissioners”) have recently approved, by a 3 – 2 vote, a resolution defining new boundaries for the five County Commission districts (the “Resolution”). The Resolution was designed to deprive, and has deprived, thousands of African-American voters living in the Newtown community of the right to vote in the 2020 election for members of the Board of County Commissioners. It also was designed to deprive, and has deprived, Plaintiff Fred Atkins, an African-American candidate for the Board from District 1, of the right to run for election as District 1 Commissioner in the 2020 election.
2. The Resolution violates the United States Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act. This Action seeks to rectify the County Commissioners’ unconstitutional and illegal race-based redistricting, and restore Plaintiffs’, and similarly situated Newtown residents’, right to vote in the 2020 Sarasota County election.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FREDD ATKINS, MICHAEL WHITE and
MARY MACK, individually and on behalf of all CLASS ACTION
others similarly situated, (Jury Trial Demanded)
Plaintiffs,
v.
SARASOTA COUNTY, FLORIDA, COMMISSIONER
NANCY C. DETERT, COMMISSIONER MICHAEL A.
MORAN, COMMISSIONER ALAN MAIO,
Defendants.
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CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT
NATURE OF THE ACTION
1. Sarasota County and its Board of County Commissioners (collectively, the “County Commissioners”) have recently approved, by a 3 – 2 vote, a resolution defining new boundaries for the five County Commission districts (the “Resolution”). The Resolution was designed to deprive, and has deprived, thousands of African-American voters living in the Newtown community of the right to vote in the 2020 election for members of the Board of County Commissioners. It also was designed to deprive, and has deprived, Plaintiff Fred Atkins, an African-American candidate for the Board from District 1, of the right to run for election as District 1 Commissioner in the 2020 election.
2. The Resolution violates the United States Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act. This Action seeks to rectify the County Commissioners’ unconstitutional and illegal race-based redistricting, and restore Plaintiffs’, and similarly situated Newtown residents’, right to vote in the 2020 Sarasota County election.
SARASOTA COUNTY COMMISSION ELECTIONS
19. While the voting rights lawsuit helped to rectify the unfair electoral system in the city of Sarasota, the Sarasota County system continued to inhibit election of African-American county commissioners. The County Charter divided the County into five single-member districts, but did not limit voting to residents of each district. Rather, it permitted all voters in Sarasota County to vote in each County Commission election, notwithstanding the actual District in which the voter resided. For years, this system impeded Newtown’s ability to meaningfully participate in the election of Sarasota County commissioners, because the community’s votes were diluted by the overwhelming caucasion majority throughout the County. An example of this was the 2016 election for District 1 Commissioner, in which Plaintiff Atkins garnered the most votes from District 1 residents but lost the countywide vote.
20. One solution to this unfair situation was a citizen initiative in 2018 to amend the Sarasota County Charter to eliminate countywide voting and limit voting in each district to residents of that district. Over 15,000 citizens signed petitions enabling the initiative to be placed on a referendum to be voted on in November 2018.
21. As described by one proponent of the plan, the citizen initiative generated “a tidal wave of opposition” by Sarasota County’s entrenched power structure. One of the most vocal leaders of the tidal wave was Robert Waechter, the former head of the Sarasota Republican Party. Waechter publicly opined that the initiative should be voted down because it was designed to prevent Republicans from “gerrymandering,” which is an oft-used technique to protect those already in power. Even though political or racial gerrymandering is prohibited by Article III, Sections 20 and 21 of the Florida Constitution, Waechter and others in the Republican Party wanted to gerrymander because it would protect the seats of existing commissioners and preserve control of the County Commission by white residents and the Republican Party. Not only were they determined to gerrymander, they ultimately decided to do so based upon race.
22. Waechter was less than a perfect advocate for the opposition to the initiative. He had been arrested in 2012 for engaging in a political “dirty trick” – making campaign contributions to Democrats on behalf of Republican primary candidate Lourdes Ramirez, thereby falsely portraying Ms. Ramirez as supporting Democrats. Ms. Ramirez had run afoul of Waechter and his patrons by challenging proposals for commercial development made by large Republican donors. Waechter ultimately pleaded guilty to a felony violation of election laws and a misdemeanor fraud charge. He was sentenced to three months of house arrest, two years of probation, 100 hours of community service and $5,000 in fines.
23. Notwithstanding the efforts of Waechter and others to preserve the unfair voting system, the Charter amendment was adopted by almost 60% of the voters. By this important reform, each Sarasota County Commissioner would now be elected only by the voters in his or her district.
SARASOTA COUNTY’S REACTION: RACE-BASED REDISTRICTING
24. The reform had another consequence, however, that existing Commissioners and their money patrons feared. With single-member district voting, Newtown would have a real opportunity to elect a county commissioner who was either African-American or who was responsive to the needs and priorities of the Newtown African-American community in District 1. Indeed, absent countywide voting, Plaintiff Atkins would have been elected District 1 Commissioner in 2016.
