JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville City Council Member Brenda Priestly Jackson says she will not be seeking reelection as a candidate for District 10.
In a letter addressed to Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan, Jackson says that there are multiple reasons for her decision but that ultimately it boils down to the city's ongoing redistricting debacle. She says the current interim map for redistricting unjustly draws Black voters into the new boundaries for District 10.
She says another reason has to do with the waiving of residency requirements for nine of the 14 single council members. Jackson says this action erodes the Jacksonville Charter.
The letter reads, in part:
“The proposed new District 10 further strips Black neighbors from surrounding districts including Districts 7, 8 and 9 and erodes both the promises of consolidation and the vote and voices of Black neighbors throughout Jacksonville. The waiver of the residency requirements for nine of the 14 districts that allows anyone to move into one of the nine districts and qualify to run for that district undercuts fundamental notions of our charter and the role of truly representative government envisioned by representation grounded in residency. For who is better than a neighbor who understands the needs of a community because she has lived in that community to represent a community and legislate and fund the needs of that community?”
She says in the letter that her service will end officially on June 30.
You can read the full letter below.