The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters may have spoken, but at least one Republican state senator says he will help a Democrat, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown of Jacksonville, in her quest to derail a constitutional amendment that would change the way political boundaries are drawn.

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said Wednesday he hasn’t ruled out continuing to assist Brown and U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., who filed suit in federal court to scuttle Amendment 6, which passed Nov. 2 with nearly 63 percent of the vote.

In June, Citizens for Housing and Urban Growth, a political action committee led by Bennett and Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, gave $5,000 each to the legal defense funds of Brown and Diaz-Balart, who contend Amendment 6 violates federal voting rights protections for minority candidates.

Another group, The Florida Leadership Alliance, headed by Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, also gave $5,000 apiece to Brown and Diaz-Balart in June. The two used the money to help finance an unsuccessful challenge to the redistricting amendment in state court in an attempt to keep the measure from voters.

Bennett has been an outspoken critic of Amendments 5 and 6, which would regulate how state and federal political districts would be drawn. He told The News Service of Florida that he may not be ready to throw in the towel.

“I’m not sure we have any money left in the fund, but I might,” Bennett said of continuing his support. “The people have made their decision … but people do have the right to sue.”

Brown’s latest lawsuit was filed in Miami federal court within hours of voters approving the redistricting measures this month.

Gaetz now heads the Senate Reapportionment Committee.

“I think it was fair before the election for all of us who have views on both sides of this to play,” he said.

Gaetz said Wednesday that his committee has not made additional contributions to the defense funds since voters approved the amendments.

“I’ve not contributed a dime to any kind of legal action for or against anything having to do with reapportionment since the election,” Gaetz said Wednesday during a break in Senate Medicaid hearings. “I’m a partisan. I think 5 and 6 were wrong-headed and very difficult to comply with. But that was then and this is now.”

Led by FairDistrictsFlorida.org, backers of Amendments 5 and 6 said the new proposals would provide some rational criteria for the way political districts are drawn. The amendments are likely to further strain relations between the Legislature and the judiciary, especially the Florida Supreme Court, which shot down three legislative proposals during the recently concluded election cycle.

link: http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2010-11-18/story/gop-florida-s...