New Beaufort Co. political maps could take seats from county council, school board members
Political boundary shifts in Beaufort County will likely force at least one County Council member and as many as four school board members to move or run against a colleague, proposed redistricting maps show.
A spike in population south of the Broad River over the past 10 years, as shown in the 2020 Census, means Bluffton and neighboring areas will get more representation on the county boards.
Beaufort County on Wednesday released two choices for redrawing the maps, suggesting how political power should be redistributed for the next decade. The maps come after 14 days of analyzing data, receiving feedback from council members and studying results of the census.
Among the changes:
- In Bluffton, the Sun City district became more compact, according to Dan Morgan, Beaufort County’s director of mapping and applications. That resulted in New Riverside, Pritchardville and Heritage being moved outside the jurisdiction of all current county council members, which creates a vacancy with no incumbent.
North of the Broad, council member Paul Sommerville, who lives in Beaufort and represents District 2, would represent a corner of Harbor Island in the second map proposal. In map proposal #1, York Glover, who lives on St. Helena Island in District 3, would represent that slice of Harbor Island.
- District 5 Council member Brian Flewelling, who lives in Beaufort, would be moved out of his district under the proposed maps and would have to decide whether to run against another member to stay on council.
Flewelling, reached by phone Tuesday, said he had pored over the map for two hours this week and doesn’t see a “realistic solution” where he can stay in his district.
Morgan, the mapping director, acknowledged that District 5 was “one of the biggest changes. We knew the population was moving south of the Broad.”
Flewelling has served since 2009, running unopposed in every election. To remain on County Council, he would have to run against the council member in his new district, likely Alice Howard.
Flewelling said it’s too early to say whether he will do that.
“I will know by the beginning of January whether I intend to seek re-election and whether that seat would likely be contested.”
The district boundaries proposed could change the districts of as many as four Beaufort County Board of Education members, forcing them to run against another member to stay on the board and leaving as many as two districts with no incumbent:
- David Striebinger, who has represented Lady’s Island and parts of Beaufort in District 2 since 2016, would be moved to District 3 under the proposed Alternative 1 map. That district has been represented by William Smith since 2019.
- Cathy Robine, who has represented parts of Bluffton and Hilton Head Island in District 8 since 2019, would be moved to District 10 in both proposed maps. Mel Campbell, the board’s vice chairperson, has represented that district since 2019.
- Richard Geier, who has represented Burton in District 5 since 2019, would be moved to District 4 under map #1 and to District 1 under map #2. Those districts are represented by Tricia Fidrych and Earl Campbell, respectively.
- Angela Middleton, who has represented Okatie in District 6 since January, would be moved to District 5 in both proposed maps.
Under both proposed maps, Districts 6 and 8 would not have incumbents; District 2 wouldn’t have an incumbent under map #1.
Beginning Nov. 29, residents will have the chance to comment on the maps.
Map alternative 2, Morgan said, grew out of conversations with county council members. Each district ideally would have 17,011 people, and South Carolina law requires the difference of a district’s population from the ideal population to not exceed 5%. So each district cannot have fewer than 16,586 people nor more than 17,436 people.
The first map proposal showed District 3, County Council member York Glover’s and school board member William Smith’s seats with an extra 372 people — 17,383. The second map’s biggest difference was also in District 3 — about 177 more people, or 17,188.
How does redistricting work?
Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following the completion of the U.S. Census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and not discriminate based on race or ethnicity. Boundaries must also be as contiguous and compact as possible and keep communities of interest together.
Morgan, who is on his third census, said this one was different because of the pandemic. Usually he gets the numbers between April and June; this year he didn’t receive them until September.
“This will be one of the toughest redistricting efforts I have been a part of in the last 20 years,” Morgan said. “The growth of population in the south, the growing Hispanic community, and the requirements mandated by law will not leave much room for many options in how we draw the district boundaries.”
Once the map has passed County Council, it will be submitted to the S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office to review and approve.
More information on redistricting is available on the Beaufort County website.
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 3:56 PM.
