[00:09:26]
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IS SAME BASIC SHAPE OF THE CURRENT DISTRICTS AND TO KEEP RESIDENTS WHO LIVE IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION IN THE SAME DISTRICT THAT JUST HELPED BECAUSE VOTERS ARE LESS CONFUSED.IF THE NEIGHBORS IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION HAVE THE SAME CHOICES FOR CANDIDATES, AS YOU LOOK AT ANY OF OUR MAPS, EITHER IN PERSON HERE ON THE WEBSITE OR ON THE SLIDES TONIGHT, YOU'LL NOTICE SLIGHTLY GRADE AREAS IN EACH DISTRICT.
AND THOSE ARE ACTUALLY INDICATING SUBDIVISIONS SO THAT WE COULD CONSIDER THOSE.
AS WE LOOKED AT THE BOUNDARIES.
FINALLY, YOU SEE A NUMBER 13 ON
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THIS LIST THAT IS STRUCK THROUGH, ALTHOUGH IT IS LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE FOR THE COUNTY TO HAVE CONSIDERED THE PROTECTION OF INCUMBENTS THAT ARE IN OFFICE, UM, AND AVOID PAIRING THEM IN THE CREATION OF A NEW ELECTION DISTRICTS.UM, OUR BOARD REJECTED THAT CRITERIA AND DIRECTED STAFF TO REDISTRICT WITHOUT ANY CONSIDERATION OF CURRENT OFFICE HOLDERS, BEING ABLE TO STAY IN THOSE DISTRICTS.
SO THAT IS WHY THAT IS CROSSED OUT.
IT WAS NOT CONSIDERED OR NOTED AS WE PREPARE THESE MAPS JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THE PRIMARY GOALS OF IT ARE COMMUNITY INPUT AND TRANSPARENCY.
FIRST, WHILE I'M, BEFORE YOU SPEAKING THIS EVENING, I AM ONLY ONE MEMBER OF THE REDISTRICTING TEAM.
UH, WE ARE LED BY INTERIM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, MANUEL ALVAREZ.
UH, WE ARE JOINED BY DEPUTY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
JOANNE HUNTER, OUR GENERAL REGISTRAR, RYAN MULLIGAN WAS A MEMBER OF THE TEAM.
AND WE WERE ABLY AIDED BY THE GIS STAFF, JONATHAN WORLEY AND DIVYA GEORGE.
BUT THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE, THOSE LISTED HERE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTY WHO PARTICIPATED IN DRAWING THE NEW DISTRICT LINES.
AND THAT MEANS THAT NO MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, THE SCHOOL BOARD OR THE ELECTORAL BOARD PARTICIPATED, PROVIDED ANY INPUT, OR FRANKLY KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP.
LET ME START AGAIN WITH A MAP OF OUR CURRENT ELECTION DISTRICTS, THE ONES THAT WERE CREATED IN 2010 WITH OUR 2020 POPULATION.
AND THEN I CAN DIRECT YOU TO THIS CHART.
THAT IS AN EASIER WAY TO READ THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ADJUSTED POPULATION IN EACH OF OUR CURRENT FIVE ELECTION DISTRICTS.
REMEMBER I MENTIONED THAT TRYING TO HAVE A TARGET EQUAL GOAL OF ABOUT 4,830 WOULD PROVIDE WITH FIVE EQUAL DISTRICTS AT THE POPULATION THAT WE HAVE, UM, UNDER THE ADJUSTED POPULATION.
THIS TABLE SHOWS YOU EACH EXISTING DISTRICT AND HOW IT COMPARES TO THAT GOAL.
YOU HAVE VERY LITTLE CHANGE NEEDED IN DISTRICTS ONE AND TWO TO ACHIEVE THAT TARGET POPULATION WITH A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CHANGE IN DISTRICTS THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE STARTED WITH.
AND THEN LET ME NEXT, TELL YOU WHAT WE DID IN TERMS OF, UM, TAKING THIS MAP AND CREATING TWO, WHAT WE HAVE TODAY IN CREATING THE PROPOSED MAP.
WE STARTED WITH THE REDISTRICTING SOFTWARE, ALLOWING THE COMPUTER TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION ONLY THE FIVE LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
THE ONES THAT ENDED UP ON THAT FIRST SLIDE AND CREATING DISTRICTS FOR GOOCHLAND COUNTY.
THEN THE REDISTRICTING TEAM MET THAT OVER THAT MAP AND WE MADE ADJUSTMENTS.
THOSE ADJUSTMENTS WERE BASED ON THE BOARD'S APPROVED CRITERIA.
THE ONE YOU'LL HEAR ABOUT THE MOST AS I GO THROUGH DISTRICT BY DISTRICT TONIGHT IS KEEPING ADDRESSES IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION IN THE SAME ELECTION DISTRICT.
THEN WE REVIEWED THE PRECINCT LEGAL REQUIREMENTS, DREW PRECINCT LINES AND IDENTIFIED POTENTIAL POLLING PLACES.
AND THEN THAT PROCESS IS ALSO WHERE WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE NEW STATE ELECTION DISTRICT LINE.
SO THE RESULT OF ALL OF THAT IS THIS GOOCHLAND COUNTY HAS PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP.
WE POSTED IT ON THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE ON DECEMBER 17TH.
SO IT'S BEEN AVAILABLE TO THE RESIDENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS.
AND WHILE I SAY WE POSTED ON THE COUNTY'S WEBSITE, AS YOU'LL LEARN LATER, WE HAVE AN ENTIRE PAGE DEDICATED TO ALL THINGS, REDISTRICTING WITH INFORMATION, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU'LL FIND ALL THESE MAPS AND DATA.
SO LET'S TAKE THAT SAME LOOK AT THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP AS WE DID ON THE DATA ABOUT HOW THE DISTRICTS ARE IN PLACE TODAY, THIS IS THE FINAL ADJUSTED POPULATION OF EACH DISTRICT AND HOW IT COMPARES TO THE TARGET GOAL POPULATION THAT WE HAD A 4,830 RESIDENTS.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE RIGHT-HAND SIDE, THAT THE DEVIATION OF POPULATION IS WITHIN PLUS OR MINUS 5%.
THAT IS THE LEGAL GOAL FOR SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL, UH, POPULATION IN ELECTION DISTRICTS IT'S PLUS OR MINUS 5%.
AND EACH DISTRICT CREATED IS WITHIN THAT GOAL.
NOW I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH EACH DISTRICT AND SHOW YOU A DISTRICT SPECIFIC MAP THAT INCLUDES, UM, SHADING FOR EACH OF THE TWO PRECINCTS THAT EXIST.
I'M STARTING IN D UH, DISTRICT FIVE.
THE REASON TO START WITH DISTRICT FIVE IS BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION AND EQUITY IS ON THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL PART OF THE COUNTY DISTRICT FIVE, FOR INSTANCE, SHOWN HERE WITH A PRECINCT 5 0 1 IN THE DARKER COLOR ON THE LEFT AND PRECINCT 5 0 2 IS SHADED LIGHTER ON THE RIGHT.
IT NEEDED TO DECREASE ITS POPULATION BY 768 RESIDENTS.
NOW THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN BOUNDARIES OF DISTRICT FIVE CAN NOT BE CHANGED BECAUSE THEY'RE ACTUALLY THE COUNTIES BORDERS.
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THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS WE NEEDED TO RETAIN THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF DISTRICT FIVE, BECAUSE IT IS THE BOUNDARY FOR THE STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES ELECTION DISTRICTS, 56 AND 57.THAT GREEN LINE THAT COMES ALL THE WAY DOWN THAT WESTERN BOUNDARY FOR DISTRICT FIVE IS IN FACT, SHOWING YOU THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT LINE.
SO DISTRICT FIVES DECREASE IN POPULATION 768 HAD TO OCCUR SOLELY BY MAKING CHANGES AND ITS BORDER WITH DISTRICT FOUR.
AND THERE WERE THREE MAJOR CHANGES MADE IN THAT BORDER.
SOME CENSUS BLOCKS WERE ACTUALLY MOVED INTO DISTRICT FOUR.
SO THEY'RE ALL OF THE ADDRESSES IN THE KINLOCH SUBDIVISION COULD STAY TOGETHER IN DISTRICT FOUR.
THERE WERE A FEW CENSUS BLOCKS WERE MOVED ACTUALLY FROM DISTRICT FOUR TO DISTRICT FIVE, BUT THAT WAS TO KEEP ALL OF THE CENSUS BLOCKS WITH MOSAIC SUBDIVISION ADDRESSES TOGETHER IN DISTRICT FIVE.
AND THEN ONE CENSUS BLOCK ON THE EASTERN PART OF THE COUNTY WAS TRANSFERRED FROM DISTRICT FIVE TO DISTRICT FOUR, SIMPLY TO HELP ACHIEVE THAT APPROPRIATE POPULATION NUMBER THAT WE WERE SEEKING.
THESE ARE THE DATA FOR THE PROPOSED DISTRICT FIVE.
UH, SHOWING YOU THAT IT'S WITHIN A HALF A PERCENT OF THE TARGET POPULATION GOAL, WE WERE LOOKING FOR SHOWING YOU THE TWO PRECINCTS AND THE NUMBERS OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN EACH PRECINCT, WHICH ARE RELATIVELY CLOSE, UH, RELATIVELY EQUAL.
AND AGAIN, THERE IS NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT.
YOU DIDN'T SEE ME SHOW YOU A LEGAL REQUIREMENT THAT THE PRECINCTS BE EQUAL.
THAT JUST RESULTS IN A BETTER ELECTION PROCESS.
IT'S EASIER ON VOTERS AND BETTER FOR THE ELECTION OFFICIALS.
IF YOU'RE REGISTERED, VOTERS ARE SPLIT RELATIVELY EQUALLY.
SO THEY LIKE TO START THAT WAY.
THE PROPOSED POLLING PLACES SHOWN HERE ARE THE SAME ONES THAT HAVE BEEN IN USE IN THESE PRECINCTS.
AND I SAY PROPOSED POLLING PLACES, BECAUSE IT'S STILL UP TO THE ELECTORAL BOARD THAT NOW THAT THEY'VE LEARNED ABOUT THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP TO DETERMINE IF THESE ARE APPROPRIATE POLLING PLACES AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE, AND WHEN THEY'RE NOT COUNTY OWNED, WHETHER THEY WILL AGREE TO EITHER BECOME POLLING PLACES OR CONTINUE TO BECOME POLLING PLACES.
LET ME MOVE ON THEN TO PROPOSE DISTRICT FOUR.
THIS MAP AGAIN, SHOWS THE TWO PRECINCTS WITH A DARKER SHADING ON THE LEFT FOR 4 0 1 AND THE LIGHTER SHADING ON THE RIGHT FOR PRECINCT 4 0 2.
NOW DISTRICT FOUR HAD TO DECREASE ITS POPULATION BY JUST OVER A THOUSAND RESIDENTS.
IT'S NORTHERN AND EASTERN BOUNDARIES CAN'T BE CHANGED BECAUSE THEY ARE THE COUNTY BORDERS DISTRICT.
FOUR'S WESTERN BOUNDARY ENDED MOVING EAST CONSIDERABLY TOO USED TO BE WEST OF OIL VILLE.
AND NOW IT COMES DOWN SHALLOW WELL ROAD.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE DISTRICT THREE ALSO NEEDED TO GAIN A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF RESIDENTS.
THEY NEEDED OVER 1200 RESIDENTS TO GO INTO DISTRICT THREE.
I'VE ALREADY DESCRIBED THE CHANGES THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN THE DISTRICT FOUR AND FIVE BORDERS, AND ESSENTIALLY WITH KINLOCK AND MOSAIC CENSUS TRACKS BEING MOVED.
AND THEN THE PRECINCT BOUNDARY IN FOR THAT GREEN LINE THAT YOU SEE DOWN THE MIDDLE, THAT IS IN FACT, THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARY, AGAIN, THAT HAS BECAME THE PRECINCT BOUNDARY SO THAT WE DID NOT CREATE ANY SPLIT PRECINCTS.
WHAT YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SLIDE ON THE PROPOSED DISTRICT FOUR DATA THOUGH, IS THAT DID RESULT IN PRECINCTS THAT ARE NOT VERY EQUAL IN THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS.
THAT AGAIN IS BECAUSE WE HAD TO OBEY THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT LINE.
UM, SO THESE ARE LEGALLY APPROPRIATE PRECINCTS.
THEY'RE NOT THE MOST CONVENIENT AS DRAFTED, UM, BECAUSE THEY HAVE ON EQUAL NUMBERS OF VOTERS, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT THE ADJUSTED POPULATION IS WITHIN 3% OF THE TARGET AND THESE TWO PROPOSED POLLING PLACES HAVEN'T CHANGED FROM WHAT'S IN PLACE IN THE COUNTY, UH, TODAY MOVING ON THEN TO DISTRICT THREE, THIS MAP SHOWS YOU THE TWO PRECINCTS WITH 3 0 1 ON THE LEFT AND 3 0 2 ON THE RIGHT NOW DISTRICT THREE ACTUALLY HAD TO GAIN THE MOST RESIDENTS.
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WAS TO DISTRICT THREE, CONSEQUENTLY IT'S TWO BORDERS HAVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IT NEEDED TO GAIN, UH, F 1,231 RESIDENTS WITHIN ITS OWN BORDERS, BUT ALSO BE AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE 500 RESIDENTS THAT WE NEEDED TO GO OVER TO DISTRICTS TWO AND ONE, AS AN ALLIANCE, REMOVING DISTRICT THREE BOUNDARIES ON THE NORTH AND SOUTH CAN'T BE CHANGED BECAUSE THEY FOLLOW THE COUNTIES BORDERS, UM, DISTRICT THREE'S BOUNDARY WITH DISTRICT FIVE STAYED THE SAME AS I MENTIONED ALREADY, BECAUSE
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THAT'S THE BOUNDARY FOR THE STATE ELECTION DISTRICT.SO IT'S DISTRICT THREE'S BOUNDARY WITH DISTRICT FOUR THAT MOVES SUBSTANTIALLY OVER TO SHALLOW WELL ROAD.
THEN WITH RESPECT TO DISTRICT IS WESTERN BOUNDARY.
IT NOW FOLLOWS COURTHOUSE CREEK, AND THAT CAUSES THE CORE OF THE COURTHOUSE VILLAGE HERE IN THE CENTRAL PART OF GOOCHLAND TO MOVE TO DISTRICT TWO AND SPLITS UP SOME OF THE PROPERTIES THAT WOULD BE CONSIDERED THE COURTHOUSE VILLAGE.
THE CREEK WAS USED FOR THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF DISTRICT THREE BECAUSE THE ADJOINING CENSUS BLOCKS ACTUALLY USE THAT CREEK AS THEIR BOUNDARIES.
AND SO THAT'S HOW WE ENDED UP USING A CREEK AS A BOUNDARY LINE FOR THE DISTRICT.
ONE OTHER NOTE ON THE DISTRICT THREE BOUNDARY, THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE PRIOR DISTRICT THREE BOUNDARY FOLLOWED THE FORMER STATE HOUSE OF DELEGATES ELECTION DISTRICT BOUNDARY.
SO THAT'S WHY THERE WERE USED TO SPLIT UP BETWEEN THREE AND TWO UP IN THAT NORTHWEST CORNER.
NOW THAT THAT BOUNDARY NO LONGER EXISTS, WE INCLUDED THOSE CENSUS BLOCKS IN THE DISTRICT THREE, BOTH TO ACHIEVE THE APPROPRIATE POPULATION AND BECAUSE IT DOES SO IN A MORE CONTIGUOUS AND COMPACT DISTRICT, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DATA WITH RESPECT TO PROPOSED DISTRICT THREE, YOU SEE THAT IT IS WITHIN THE 5% PLUS OR MINUS THAT IS REQUIRED BY LAW.
YOU SEE THAT THE REGISTERED VOTERS ARE RELATIVELY CLOSE IN, UM, EQUALIZATION.
AND CERTAINLY WITHIN WHAT'S ENTITLED TO FOR PRESET CREATING PRECINCTS.
THIS PROPOSED DISTRICT HAS TWO NEW PROPOSED POLLING PLACES, BOTH COUNTY OWNED THE GOOCHLAND COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER AND THE RANDOLPH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
UH, THE REDISTRICTING TEAM HAD TALKED TO THE SCHOOLS PRIOR TO STARTING THE PROCESS, AND THEY HAD AGREED TO MAKE SCHOOLS AVAILABLE AS POLLING PLACES.
THE STUDENTS WILL NOT BE IN SCHOOL ON ELECTION DAY IN THE FUTURE.
WHEN I MOVE INTO PROPOSED DISTRICT TWO, WE HAVE HERE THE MAP SHADED WITH THE PRECINCTS, YOU CAN SEE 2 0 1 IS THE DARKER SHADE.
2 0 2 IS THE LIGHTER SHADE DISTRICT.
TWO ONLY NEEDED 415 RESIDENTS TO BE ADDED TO IT, BUT IT ALSO NEEDED TO MAKE SURE IT COULD PROVIDE DISTRICT ONE WITH ABOUT 132 RESIDENTS, UH, LIKE DISTRICT THREE, DISTRICT TWOS, NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES CAN'T BE CHANGED BECAUSE THEY ARE THE COUNTY'S BORDERS.
AND I EXPLAINED TO YOU JUST A MINUTE AGO, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT DISTRICT THREE, THAT THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN TWO AND THREE IS NOW COURTHOUSE CREEK ON THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF DISTRICT TWO, WE'VE MADE SOME CHANGES BETWEEN DISTRICT TWO AND DISTRICT ONE.
THOSE WERE IN ORDER TO TRY AND KEEP SUBDIVISIONS IN THE SAME DISTRICT.
SO IN THE VICINITY OF CEDAR PLAINS ROAD, SOME CENSUS BLOCKS WERE MOVED FROM DISTRICT TO DISTRICT ONE BECAUSE THE MEREDITH FARMS SUBDIVISION WAS BEING SPLIT BETWEEN THE TWO DISTRICTS IN THAT SAME AREA.
SEVERAL CENSUS BLOCKS WERE MOVED INTO DISTRICT TWO BECAUSE WE WERE TRYING TO KEEP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ADDRESSES IN THE RED BLUFF AND BOWLING LANE PLACE, SUBDIVISIONS IN DISTRICT TWO, AND THEN TO OBTAIN ULTIMATELY A FINAL POPULAR, APPROPRIATE POPULATION.
THERE IS ONE CENSUS BLOCK ON THE WESTERN BORDER THAT WAS MOVED FROM DISTRICT TWO TO DISTRICT ONE.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DATA FOR THE PROPOSED DISTRICT TWO, YOU SEE THAT AGAIN, IT IS WITHIN THE TARGET POPULATION BY A POSITIVE 3.29%.
THE TWO PRECINCTS CONTAIN VERY CLOSE TO EQUAL NUMBERS OF VOTERS, WHICH HAS NOT BEEN THE CASE IN THE PRIOR PRECINCTS IN THIS DISTRICT.
AND THERE ARE TWO NEW PROPOSED POLLING PLACES.
ONE IS A COUNTY OWNED FACILITY AT CENTRAL HIGH, THE OTHER, THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE BAPTIST CHURCH.
FINALLY, WE GET TO THE MOST EASTERN DISTRICT, EXCUSE ME, THE MOST WESTERN PROPOSED DISTRICT ONE.
IT ACTUALLY REQUIRED THE LEAST CHANGE IN POPULATION.
IT ONLY NEEDED TO GAIN 132 RESIDENTS.
IT'S NORTHERN SOUTHERN AND WESTERN BOUNDARIES ARE THE COUNTY BORDERS AND THEREFORE CANNOT BE CHANGED.
AND I JUST DESCRIBED TO YOU THAT SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT OCCURRED WITH ITS BOUNDARY WITH DISTRICT TWO, ESPECIALLY TO KEEP THE SUBDIVISIONS TOGETHER WITH MEREDITH FARMS, RED EYE BLUFF AND BOWLING LANE PLACE.
AND THEN AGAIN, THERE IS ONE SUBDIVISION BLOCK THAT MOVED INTO, UM, DISTRICT ONE TO OBTAIN THE APPROPRIATE POPULATION.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE DATA REGARDING THE PROPOSED DISTRICT ONE, IT IS, UH, WITHIN 3% OF THE TARGET POPULATION AND IT SHOWS REGISTERED VOTERS IN TWO PRECINCTS, UM, WITHIN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF, UH, EQUAL NUMBERS IN PRECINCTS 1 0 1 AND 1 0 2 PRECINCT 1 0 2 VOTERS WOULD CONTINUE
[00:25:01]
TO BE VOTING AT THE GOOCHLAND FIRE RESCUE STATION SIX, WHEREAS 1 0 1 REGISTERED VOTERS WOULD GO TO BIRD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.AND SO THAT IS A SUMMARY OF THE DISTRICT BY DISTRICT, UH, MAPS AND, UH, UH, DISCUSSION OF THE INFORMATION.
LET ME MOVE ON BECAUSE AFTER THE REDISTRICT, THE MAP WAS CREATED, THE REDISTRICTING TEAM REVIEWED THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA OF THE COUNTY OVERALL, AND EACH DISTRICT I'M GOING TO STOP AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND ONE THING I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE ADJUSTED POPULATION OF THE COUNTY FOR PURPOSES OF REDISTRICTING, CAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO USE.
HOWEVER, ALL DEMOGRAPHIC DATA COMES STRAIGHT FROM THE CENSUS INFORMATION.
AND SO IT USES THE TOTAL POPULATION OF GOOCHLAND COUNTY.
WHEN THE VIRGINIA AGENCY REALLOCATED PRISONERS, THEY DID NOT INCLUDE THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA OF THE PRISONERS THAT THEY WERE CHANGING.
AND SO THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA DOESN'T RELATE TO THE ADJUSTED POPULATION.
IT RELATES TO THE TOTAL POPULATION.
WHEN WE START WITH THE 2010 COUNTYWIDE DATA, THIS IS THE, UM, CENSUS INFORMATION REPORTED IN 2010.
THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA IN REPORTED IN 2010 WAS ONLY WHITE, BLACK AND OTHER THE COUNTY AT THAT TIME HAD 77.5% OF ITS POPULATION REPORT AS OH IN THE WHITE DEM DEMOGRAPHIC AND ALMOST 4,200 RESIDENTS WHO REPORTED AS BLACK, WHICH WAS ABOUT 19.2% OF THE COUNTY POPULATION OVER THERE AND READ ON THE FAR RIGHT OF THE SCREEN.
I'VE TOTALED UP THE NONWHITE COUNTY POPULATION, WHICH WAS APPROXIMATELY 22.5%.
NOW IN THE 2020 COUNTY-WIDE CENSUS DATA, THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION IS REPORTED VERY DIFFERENTLY.
THERE ARE OVER 150 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, NOT JUST WHITE, BLACK, HISPANIC, ASIAN, AMERICAN, INDIAN, HAWAIIAN, BUT ALSO MANY MULTI-RACIAL, UH, CATEGORIES.
AND SO FOR GOOCHLAND, WE'RE REPORTING THE DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES THAT REPRESENT AT LEAST 2% OF OUR RESIDENTS.
THOSE ARE WHITE, BLACK, HISPANIC, AND ASIAN, ALL OTHER, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES ARE REPORTED IN THE CATEGORY.
OTHER THAT WE'VE INCLUDED HERE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS COUNTY-WIDE DATA, THE COUNTY'S WHITE POPULATION GREW IN NUMBER FROM 16,820 TO 19,302 A GAIN OF ALMOST 2,500 RESIDENTS.
HOWEVER, THE PERCENTAGE OF WHITE RESIDENTS IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY IS FAIRLY STEADY.
TODAY, YOU READ THAT IT'S 78.1% OVERALL, THE COUNTY'S POPULATION OF RESIDENTS IDENTIFYING AS BLACK DECREASED BY ALMOST A THOUSAND, THE RESIDENTS WHO IDENTIFIED AS BLACK IN 2010 OR ABOUT 19% OF THE COUNTY POPULATION TODAY, THEY'RE SHOWN AT JUST OVER 13% OF THE COUNTY POPULATION.
HOWEVER, ONE OF THE FACTORS THAT WERE DOING SOME ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS OF IS WHETHER THE DECREASES IN THE RESIDENTS REPORTING AS BLACK IS AT LEAST PARTIALLY DUE TO SOME OF THOSE RESIDENTS.
NOW IDENTIFYING THEMSELVES AS MULTI-RACIAL, WHICH WOULD PUT THEM IN A DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC CATEGORY, BLACK AND HISPANIC FOR INSTANCE, WAS ONE OF THE WAYS THAT YOU COULD RESPOND.
IF YOU LOOK THOUGH TO THE DATA SUMMARIZED ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, YOU WILL SEE THAT OVERALL, THE NUMBER OF NONWHITE RESIDENTS IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY IS VERY CLOSE TO WHAT IT WAS IN 2010.
SO THAT'S A FAIRLY STEADY WITH THE 22% FROM 2010, THE SINGLE LARGEST MINORITY CATEGORY IN GOOCHLAND COUNTY IS RESIDENTS WHO IDENTIFY IT AS BLACK AT 13.2% OF THE POPULATION.
SO PART OF THE REASON THAT PEOPLE LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHICS IS BECAUSE THEY WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF EACH DISTRICT.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE THAT INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE FOR YOU.
IN ADDITION TO THE MAPS, BEING ON THE WEBSITE, THIS TYPE OF DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION IS ALSO IN CHARTS AND TABLES THAT WE'VE ADDED TO THE WEBSITE FOR YOUR REVIEW.
I'M STARTING HERE WITH THE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR THE COUNTY'S CURRENT DISTRICTS THAT WERE CREATED IN 2010, BUT SHOWING THE POPULATION FROM 2020 BEFORE WE STARTED THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS.
AND I'LL JUST HIGHLIGHT FOR YOU HERE.
THE DISTRICT WITH THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF, UH, BLACK RESIDENTS BEFORE REDISTRICTING IS DISTRICT TWO, WHICH HAD 23.4% OF ITS POPULATION.
ALSO THE DISTRICT WITH THE LOWEST POPULATION OF BLACK RESIDENTS SHOWN BY THE BLUE CIRCLE IS DISTRICT
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FIVE, WHICH ONLY HAD 6.6% OF ITS POPULATION IDENTIFY AS BLACK IN 2010.IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THERE HAS NOT BEEN A DISTRICT IN THIS COUNTY IN WHICH A MINORITY POPULATION IS THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION FOR SEVERAL DECADES.
THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE OVERALL LOW PERCENTAGES OF MINORITIES THAT LIVE IN THE COUNTY.
THE LAST TIME THAT WE HAD AN ELECTION DISTRICT WITH A MAJORITY OF BLACK RESIDENTS WAS IN 1991, THE PROPOSED ELECTION DISTRICTS.
I HAVE SIMILAR INFORMATION BASED ON THE CURRENT MAP.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I'LL START WITH THE FACT THAT DISTRICT TWO STILL HAS THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF BLACK RESIDENTS AT JUST OVER 20%.
AND DISTRICT FIVE CONTINUES TO HAVE THE LOWEST BLACK POPULATION AT ABOUT 5% SHOWN IN THE BLUE CIRCLE, THEN SHOWN HERE WITH THE GREEN CIRCLES DISTRICT ONE AND THREE SHOW AN INCREASE IN BOTH THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF BLACK RESIDENTS, ABOUT A HUNDRED MORE BLACK RESIDENTS IN DISTRICT ONE, IT TAKES UP ABOUT 1% OF POPULATION AND DISTRICT THREE, SIMILARLY ABOUT A HUNDRED MORE BLACK RESIDENTS AND TAKES IT UP TO 13% OF THE POPULATION WHILE THE OTHER DISTRICT DISTRICTS REFLECTED DECLINE IN THE RESIDENTS REPORTING AS BLACK, BOTH IN NUMBERS AND IN PERCENTAGES.
THE CREATION OF THE PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP IS ACTUALLY JUST THE FIRST STOP ON OUR PROCESS FOR REDISTRICTING.
THERE'S LOTS OF INFORMATION THAT IS IMPORTANT, INCLUDING, UM, OBTAINING COMMUNITY INPUT.
IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PROCESS HEARING FROM YOU, OUR RESIDENTS, UM, ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING MAP, UM, YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT, QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.
THE COUNTY'S REDISTRICTING, A WEBSITE CONTAINS ALL THIS INFORMATION AND IT'S LISTED THERE.
HOW TO REACH THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE.
YOU CAN POST COMMENTS, PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE SO THAT EVERYONE CAN SEE THEM.
THE VIRGINIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT REQUIRES THE COUNTY EXCEPT PUBLIC COMMENT ON A PROPOSED REDISTRICTING MAP FOR 30 DAYS.
BUT GOOCHLAND COUNTY HAS CHOSEN TO EXTEND THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT WILL TAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS THROUGH FEBRUARY 1ST IN PART, BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAYS, WE KNEW THAT THAT COULD INTERFERE WITH PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SPEND TIME LOOKING AT THE REDISTRICTING MAP.
YOU CAN ALSO SEND EMAILS TO THE ADDRESS ON THE SCREEN.
AND, UH, THIS IS THE SECOND OF OUR COMMUNITY MEETINGS.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS SHOWN HERE BOTH NEXT WEEK AND THE WEEK AFTER THAT.
AND THEN GIVEN THE SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENT WE'VE HAD THIS WEEK, WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD ADDITIONAL MEETINGS OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.
UM, SO THAT RESIDENTS WHO TODAY ARE STILL CONCERNED WITHOUT HEAT OR INTERNET WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE, IMPORTANT THINGS ABOUT THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS YOU CAN ATTEND VIRTUALLY OR ONLINE, EXCUSE ME, OR IN-PERSON ANY MEETING.
THE MEETINGS ARE NOT DISTRICT OR AREA SPECIFIC.
WE'LL COVER ALL DISTRICTS AT EACH OF THESE MEETINGS AND YOU CAN JOIN ANY OF THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS VIA ZOOM.
WE HAVE SOME, UH, JOINED WITH US.
WE HAD SOME IN OUR EARLIER MEETING AT FOUR O'CLOCK, WE'RE CREATING TRANSCRIPTS OF THE MEETING, NOT OF MY PRESENTATION, WHICH GENERALLY WON'T CHANGE FROM MEETING TO MEETING, BUT OF THE QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERS PROVIDED TO RESIDENTS AT THOSE MEETINGS AND WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PROCESS IS THE TRANSPARENCY THAT ALL COMMENTS WE RECEIVE, NO MATTER HOW WE RECEIVE THEM WILL BE POSTED TO THE COUNTY WEBSITE.
THAT'S WHY THE TRANSCRIPTS WILL BE POSTED ONCE THEY'VE BEEN TYPED UP FROM THE MEETINGS, THE PUBLIC COMMENTS OR THEIR EMAILS THAT WE RECEIVE WILL BE SCANNED AND RE AND PUT ON THE WEBSITE THAT WE WILL REDACT, UM, EMAIL ADDRESSES SO THAT THAT'S NOT MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE.
IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO GOOCHLAND COUNTY THAT OUR RESIDENTS KNOW WHAT'S BEING SAID, ASKED AND PROPOSED REGARDING REDISTRICTING.
WE'LL ALSO BE CREATING A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, DOCUMENT LITTLE QUESTIONS THAT WE GET FROM RESIDENTS THROUGH ALL THESE, UH, FROM MEETINGS AND OTHER AREAS.
WE'LL POST THAT AND UPDATE IT AS WE GO ALONG.
ALL OF THIS PUBLIC COMMENT GOES THROUGH FEBRUARY 1ST.
THE NEXT STEP WILL THEN BE TO PRESENT THE PUBLIC COMMENTS TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
NOW, YOUR BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IS ALREADY PAYING ATTENTION TO THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE AND COMMENTS, BUT IT WILL BE UP TO STAFF TO SUMMARIZE AND PRESENT THOSE PUBLIC COMMENTS TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AT A SPECIAL MEETING ON FEBRUARY 26TH AT SIX O'CLOCK.
WE ALSO MAY PROPOSE REVISIONS BASED
[00:35:01]
ON THE COMMENTS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED.AND WE WOULD BE PRESENTING THOSE TO THE BOARD AT THAT TIME.
IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES FROM THE FEBRUARY 22ND MEETING, A REVISED MAP WILL BE CREATED AND POSTED, AND IT WILL BE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE AND AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT FOR AN ADDITIONAL 15 DAYS.
FINALLY, THOUGH, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IS ANTICIPATED TO ADOPT A FINAL REDISTRICTING MAP AND THE ORDINANCE THAT ACCOMPANIES IT BY MARCH 15TH AT SIX O'CLOCK, THAT'S ANOTHER SPECIAL MEETING DATE, MARCH 15TH IS OUR TARGET BECAUSE THE MAP AND ORDINANCE BECOME EFFECTIVE 30 DAYS AFTER ADOPTION.
AND THAT WOULD BE APRIL 15TH, WHICH FOR MANY OF US TAX DAY IS WHAT COMES TO MIND.
BUT AS IT STANDS TODAY, ABSENTEE VOTING FOR THE JUNE PRIMARIES WOULD START BY MAY 6TH.
AND SO IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE FINALIZE OUR MAP AND PRECINCTS AND POLLING PLACES IN ORDER FOR THAT ELECTION PROCESS TO, TO OCCUR.
NOW, BEFORE I TAKE QUESTIONS, UM, OUR INTERIM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR, MR. ALVAREZ, IS GOING TO COME UP AND EXPLAIN TO YOU A NEW APP THAT HAS BEEN CREATED AND WON'T BE RELEASED FOR RESIDENTS AND OTHERS USE, UM, AS EARLY AS TOMORROW, SO THAT YOU CAN FIND YOUR, UH, ADDRESS OR OTHER ADDRESSES IN THE COUNTY ARE IN THE, UNDER THE NEW MAP.
MR. ALVAREZ, WILL YOU FUCKING GET OUT OF THIS? I JUST MINIMIZE IT.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING WE JUST FINISHED TODAY.
HOPEFULLY IT'S AT WORKS LIKE THAT'S EXPECTED, BUT WHAT THIS IS IS A MAP OF GOOCHLAND, AS YOU CAN SEE, AND IT'S GOT A COUPLE OF FEATURES THIS, UM, THESE BARS IN THE TOP GIVE YOU THE, UM, ALL THE ITEMS ON THE MAP, UH, THE, WHERE THE SEARCH, UM, UH, MAGNIFYING GLASS YOU CAN PUT IN YOUR ADDRESS I'LL PUT IN.
UM, AND IF YOU START TYPING IT IN, IT'LL, IT'LL FIND AN ADDRESS FOR YOU.
IT TAKES YOU TO THE ADDRESS AND IT SHOWS YOU BOTH THE CURRENT, UM, THIS PICTURE YOU WERE IN AND THE PROPOSED, UH, PRECINCT OR THE, THE PROPOSAL, PRETTY THINGS, AND, UH, THIS DRUG, AS WELL AS THE EXISTING, UH, DISTRICT THAT YOU LIVE IN.
SO IF YOU WERE IN A DIFFERENT PLACE, I'LL SHOW YOU ANOTHER, UM, OOPS.
OH, SO YOUR THIS, UH, ADDRESS, IT'S NOT DRESSING JUST TO BE ANOTHER CAN, Y'ALL SEE THE SCREEN.
UM, IT'S NOT DRESSING USED TO BE IN DISTRICT TWO AND NOW, SO IT SHOWS YOU THE EXISTING DISTRICT, AND THEN IT SHOWS YOU THE NEW PRECINCT AND THE NEW DISTRICT.
AND IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE PRECINCT IS, YOU CAN, UH, THE PRECINCTS ARE SHOWN AS THESE DOTS WITH A COLOR IN THE CENTER.
AND SO THIS, UH, PERSONAL WILL BE NOW, WE'LL NOW BE VOTING AT THE NEW ANIMAL SHELTER ON AND, UH, HIDDEN ROCK PARK LANE.
UM, SO YOU CAN ALSO ZOOM IN OR ZOOM OUT AND YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY LOCATION ON THE MAP AND IT SHOWS YOU THE DISTRICT.
THE ONLY THING, THE ONLY THING IN HALF IS THIS, UM, BUTTON HERE AT THE TOP.
IF YOU CLICK ON THAT, IT'LL GIVE YOU A SLIDER.
IF YOU MOVE THIS SLIDER ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT AND SHOWS YOU ONLY THE PROPOSED DISTRICT, AS YOU MOVE IT TO THE RIGHT, IS YOURS SHOWS YOU THE FORMER DISTRICT LINES.
SO THIS GIVES YOU AN ABILITY TO SEE WHETHER THE DISTRICT CHANGED.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE DISTRICT LINE HERE.
AND I THOUGHT I MENTIONED, THIS PERSON USED TO BE IN DISTRICT TWO, AND NOW THEY'RE IN DISTRICT, UH, DISTRICT THREE.
AND IT'S ALREADY, IT IS ON THE WEBSITE.
IF YOU CLICK ON THE RIGHT HAND OF THE REDISTRICTING WEBSITE ALL THE WAY AT THE BOTTOM IT'LL IT'LL, IT HAS TO BE UP BY THE WAY, I'M MANNY ALVAREZ.
UM, WE DO RECOGNIZE THAT THE MAPS ON THE WEBSITE, AS MUCH AS WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE THEM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE MUCH BETTER TOOL FOR THE SPECIFICITY OF INFORMATION PEOPLE WANT, BUT WE HAD TO GET THE MAP DONE BEFORE WE CAN CREATE THIS.
[00:40:01]
UM, WE'RE CONTINUING TO IMPROVE, YOU KNOW, THE INFORMATION PROVIDED TO OUR RESIDENTS.SO THE NEXT, UH, AND MOST IMPORTANT PART OF OUR PRESENTATION IS FOR QUESTIONS FROM RESIDENTS, BOTH IN THE ROOM OR FROM ZOO.
UH, WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.
WE'RE GOING TO BE CREATING, UH, OUR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FROM THOSE.
UM, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE ABLE TO ALLOW ZOOM QUESTIONS AND THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO, UH, RAISE YOUR HAND IN ORDER TO HAVE OUR IT PERSONNEL CALL ON YOU TO HAVE YOU SPEAK.
I DO ASK, AS WE NORMALLY DO FOR THINGS INVOLVING THE, THE, UH, COMMUNITY THAT YOU GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS.
AND IF YOU'RE ON ZOOM TO MAKE A QUESTION, IF YOU COULD TURN DOWN OR OFF YOUR SPEAKER SO THAT WE DON'T GET FEEDBACK, BUT WHILE THE ZOOM FOLKS ARE AWARE THAT THAT'S THE PROCESS, I'M GOING TO START WITH FOLKS IN THE ROOM.
IS THERE ANYONE HERE WHO'D LIKE TO COME TO THE PODIUM TO MAKE A QUESTION OR COMMENT? THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE IN THE ROOM FOR THOSE OF YOU WE'RE ON ZOOM.
SO I'M NOW JUST GIVING THEM BOTH THE, THE, THAT INQUISITION GENTLEMEN, PLEASE COME UP.
I'M HAPPY TO SEE THE MICROPHONE.
IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO COMMENT ON OR QUESTION, IS THERE ANYONE ON ZOOM WHO'S RAISED THEIR HAND? OKAY, WELL THAT IS, UH, THE END OF OUR PRESENTATION THE EVENING.
UM, WE CONTINUE TO GIVE THESE PRESENTATIONS, UH, THERE'S AT LEAST THREE MORE SCHEDULED.
WE'RE ADDING ANOTHER COUPLE AND EACH PRESENTATION DESIGNED TO COVER THE INFORMATION, ANSWER QUESTIONS, AND PROVIDE THE RESIDENTS, ALL THAT THEY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING MAP AND THE PROPOSED PROCESS.
I CERTAINLY THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF THE WHOLE REDISTRICTING TEAM FOR COMING AND PARTICIPATING IN THE MEETING FOR LEARNING ABOUT IT, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO HELP, UM, HELP YOU UNDERSTAND IT.