Posted: October 29, 2010 - 12:01am
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By Byron Wilkinson
Editor: This election is important to the people of Florida, especially the folks in St. Augustine and St. Johns County. As a resident, I assumed I was in Florida Senate District 8. I looked forward to voting for Deborah Gianoulis since she announced her candidacy against Sen. John Thrasher.
Surprisingly, when I received my sample ballot in the mail, there was no Senate District 8 to be found. I was concerned, so I looked up the official state website with the map of Senate District 8 (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/data/legislators/senate/DistrictData/SD/SD08.pdf). District 8 runs north from Fernandina Beach down to Daytona Beach Shores to the south. The district is basically between I-95 and the Atlantic Ocean except when it comes to St. Johns County and St. Augustine. Here it juts in around West Augustine and continues to outline Lincolnville, looking similar to the boot of Italy. Because of this, West Augustine and Lincolnville are excluded from Senate District 8 and are a part of Senate District 1, which runs west of I-95 in central St. Johns County.
Gerrymandering is a mild term for what this intrusion into the district implies. It is a sad throw back to the bitter elements of derision which dictated a way of life that did not give equal rights or equal opportunities to all the citizens of our community. This is a very unpleasant view of our past and one that shook me to my very core. I voted early, but was unable to vote for Gianoulis, who I believe, will bring competent change and be a breath of fresh air for our community and state.
Byron Wilkinson
St. Augustine
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