A.G. Gancarski
As we reported Monday, Corrine Brown lost her challenge to Florida’s Congressional redistricting, obligating her to run in the east/west configuration of Congressional District 5 if she chooses to run for re-election.
The judicial setback raises questions about whether she will in fact run against Al Lawson or will step aside for a new candidate from Jacksonville in the CD 5 race.
Brown on Monday said the following: “I am extremely disappointed in today’s ruling,” Brown said in a statement. “I am currently reviewing it with my attorneys, and will issue a longer, formal statement [Tuesday].”
It looks like the timetable for that response ultimately will be deferred further, according to her spokesman David Simon, who said Rep. Brown “said that she is still reviewing the ruling and considering her options. She will likely release a statement tomorrow or Thursday.”
Possible candidates, such as Sen. Audrey Gibson and Rep. Mia Jones, await her move.
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As FloridaPolitics.com’s Jim Rosica wrote Monday, in a 26-page order, the three judges said Brown had “not proven (her) case and that defendants,” including the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause, “are entitled to judgment in their favor.”
Brown had asked the court to set aside her redrawn seat, which she contended diluted the power of African-American voters in “communities of interest” that run south from Jacksonville to Orlando along the St. Johns River.
The argument proved unpersuasive to the judicial triumvirate, which rejected her request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing the new district. Since their order “resolved the merits of this case,” the case is essentially over.
“Florida’s deadline for candidates to file papers to run for office in the upcoming election is June 24, 2016,” they wrote. “In order to allow time for any appeal of our order, we feel a responsibility to rule on the pending case now.”
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Material from FloridaPolitics.com reporter Jim Rosica was used in this post.
