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JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – Jacksonville City Council members voted Tuesday night to redraw district lines instead of eliminating the city’s ward system.
The vote came during a special called meeting where residents showed up in numbers to oppose House Bill 1038.
Signs reading “Oppose 1038” filled the meeting room as councilmembers discussed their opposition or support for the bill.
The bill, introduced by Onslow County lawmakers Rep. Wyatt Gable (R-14) and Rep. Phil Shepard (R-15), would eliminate the city’s ward system and require all councilmembers to be elected at-large.
Many residents said the change could affect how minority are represented on city council and reverse progress made in the city’s diverse wards.
“I think when you have wards and districts, it protects the integrity of communities and neighborhoods,” resident and former councilmember Brian Jackson said. “This is my home and I always want the best for what is Jacksonville. My family goes back to slavery.”
After hours of discussion, councilmembers voted 4-2 to redraw districts to comply with laws rather than eliminate the ward system.
Residents and members of the NAACP voiced support for the decision.
“The scales of justice swung in the right direction today, and the people’s voice were heard,” resident Gloria Goodwin said.
Ward 1 Councilmember Jerome Willingham said the ward system has history in Jacksonville. He helped bring it to the city through a lawsuit he and others filed 36 years ago after concerns about the city’s previous at-large method.
On Tuesday night, Willingham made the motion to redraw the lines.
“We’ve accomplished so much with neighborhood representation,” Willingham said. “It localizes our democracy so that we’re much more accessible, and see before we had the system, we had the at-large system and it was determined by the federal courts to be discriminatory so why would we ever go back to that?”
Mayor Sammy Phillips said the vote to move forward with redistricting will allow the city to move forward for now.
“I feel relieved that we got the chance to sit down as a council and hear from all the different council members and come to some type of conclusion as to what track we want to take in order to make sure that we’re following the law as far as elections are concerned,” Phillips said.
House Bill 1038 was placed on hold and pulled from committee consideration last week. It is not scheduled to move forward at this time.
“While we see this as a positive sign that our concerns are being heard, we must remain focused,” said M. Kenyatta Euring Sr., branch president of the NAACP Onslow County Branch. “In legislative terms, ‘displaced’ means the bill is sidelined, not dead. It can be brought back to the floor at any time. Our branch remains committed to protecting the voting rights and representative voice of every citizen in Onslow County.”
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