On Wednesday, the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council voted against placing a controversial redistricting amendment on the Nov. 7 election ballot.
The original amendment, which was proposed by District 3 councilman Pat Culbertson, would have dropped the total number of Metro Council districts from 12 to 10 districts, prompting redistricting and the rise of district population totals from 35,000 to 42,000. The amendment would have also created two at-large, parish-wide seats along with 10 council districts, allowing the candidate with the most votes running for the at-large seats to become president pro tempore. During Wednesday’s vote, District 11 councilman David Boneno added an amendment to the bill, proposing that the Metro Council remain at 12 districts while adding the 2 at-large members to bring the council total to 14. After forty-five minutes of debate, the council voted, reaching a 6-6 verdict, short of the majority needed to pass the bill. District 1 councilman Wayne Carter voted for the measure, but expressed concern about the timing of the bill. “I support sending something to the voters, but a red flag has gone up for me,” Carter said. “No one’s going to be running for this seat for 2 years and 3 months, so why the gigantic head start?” Culbertson defended the timing, saying it’s necessary to put the bill on the November ballot so voters can decide before the 2008 elections. If passed, Culbertson said the extra time would ensure that local propositions like the amendment wouldn’t get lost among the state and national election issues.
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