In 2015 the ballot voters see in Salisbury could look much different than in the past.
Aside from all five seats and the Mayor being up for election, under a new redistricting plan they would only be voting for one city council member.
That’s the result of a vote last night by the City Council to divide the city up into five separate districts with two minority-majority districts.
Currently there is an at-large district that puts four council members on the council and only one from a minority-majority district.
Council president Jake Day who supported the measure said, “Morally I think it’s the right thing to do, because you are giving people a greater chance of being elected to serve their community from their neighborhood and a greater chance to access their elected official and representative.”
Dissenting
The final vote was 4-to-1 with the lone dissenter being council member Tim Spies who warned that special interests might manipulate voters in these districts.
“Keep an eye out,” he said. “Make sure that you are not being pulled by the nose by somebody who has a special interest in getting land, in getting changes in our ordinances to try to make it easier or more lucrative for those special interests.”
The plan must still get approval from a federal court.
