Redistricting gives Brevard fifth Florida House district, two shared with other counties

The once-a-decade redrawing of Florida House and Senate district maps to even out population counts between districts has had major impacts on Brevard County.

But there is disagreement in political circles about whether the impacts of the changes are positive or negative for the Space Coast..

Chief among the changes is the increase from four to five in the number of Florida House districts that include Brevard. But two of those five districts also include big swathes of another county — either Volusia to the north or Indian River to the south — and that more than 75% of the voters in each of those districts live in the other county.

Those who say it's positive development point to the increased number of people in the Brevard delegation, giving the Space Coast an added voice in Tallahassee, pushing for local projects and local interests.

Everything about the elections: 2022 Primary Election: Ultimate voter's guide

Two-county election: Republican primary for House District 30 pits Brevard's Hattaway, Volusia's Tramont

New district's race: Brevard's redrawn House District 34 race attracts 3 Indian River Republican candidates to primary

Detractors of the moves contend that, for the legislators in the two-county districts, Brevard's interests might be secondary to the county that has more voters and residents overall, especially if the legislator lives in the other county.

The new districts are in play in the Florida Legislature races this year, with the candidates in the Aug. 23 primaries and the Nov. 8 general election. The new district boundaries will officially take effect after the November election.

Currently, House Districts 51, 52, and 53 are fully within Brevard. House District 50 includes north Brevard, but the majority of the district is in Orange County.

In the new maps approved by the Florida Legislature, District 30, which includes part of north Brevard, is predominantly a Volusia County district. And District 34, which includes part of south Brevard, is predominantly an Indian River County district. House Districts 31, 32 and 33 are fully within Brevard County.

Along with the changes in district boundaries, the districts were renumbered.

In the Senate, there also were changes, as far as Brevard is concerned. The new Senate District 19 (the former District 17) now includes only Brevard County south of Titusville. Previously, the district included central and southern Brevard and all of Indian River County.

Senate District 8 (the former District 14) still includes north Brevard and south Volusia County.

'Big winner' or detrimental?

Florida Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay, served as vice chair of the House Redistricting Committee. He said Brevard emerged as "a big winner" in the redistricting process.

"The Legislature, to some degree, is organized by delegation. And the delegation looks out for the interests of the county. Until this year, we've had four members of the House in our delegation: three fully nested districts and then one that we share with another county," Fine said.

"This November, we'll actually have five. We'll still have the three fully nested districts, but now we'll have two partials. And so, that means we'll have one more House member who sees taking care of Brevard County as part of their job," he said.

However, Brevard Democratic Executive Committee Chair Pamela Castellana said having two of Brevard's five House districts with potentially out-of-county residents in the offices could be detrimental to the interests of Brevard residents, especially of those legislators focused on the issues of the county that makes up the majority of their district.

Castellana said she is not impressed by the Republican legislators who have represented north Brevard were lived in other counties.

The current House District 50 was represented by Rep. Rene Plasencia of Orlando, although he resigned in March, and the seat now is vacant.

Republicans Robyn Hattaway of Merritt Island and Chase Tramont of Port Orange currently are seeking the new District 30 seat, and will face one another in an Aug. 23 GOP primary. There is no Democratic candidate in District 30, and only a write-in candidate facing the primary winner in the Nov. 8 general election. (Merritt Island is not in District 30, and Hattaway would have to move into the district if she wins the election.)

Only Indian River County residents are running in District 34. The Republican primary pits Robert Brackett of Vero Beach and Karen Hiltz of Sebastian. The winner will face Democrat Karen Greb of Sebastian on Nov. 8.

In the Florida Senate district that crosses county lines — now numbered District 14 and becoming District 8 after the November election — the incumbent is Tom Wright of New Smyrna Beach. Democrats Richard Paul Dembinsky of Port Orange and Andrea Williams of Titusville will compete in an Aug. 23 primary, with the winner facing Wright in November.

In all three split legislative districts, Brevard voters represent less than one-quarter of the total registered voters in the district.

• House District 30: 76% in Volusia County, 24% in Brevard County.

• House District 34: 88% in Indian River County, 12% in Brevard County.

• Senate District 14: 87% in Volusia County, 13% in Brevard County.

Unlike Castellana, Brevard Republican Executive Committee Chair Rick Lacey says he has no qualms about out-of-county residents representing parts of Brevard County in the Florida Legislature. Lacey said he believes, for example, that Plasencia and Wright had Brevard's interests in mind, even thought the majority of their districts were in Orange and Volusia counties, respectively.

Titusville split in two

But Titusville Mayor Dan Diesel said he has concerns about how redistricting will affect the Titusville area, as the north Brevard portion of the new House District 30 and Senate District 8 are shrinking.

Although Diesel has no issues with how Plasencia and Wright have represented north Brevard's interests, he is worried that a future state legislator representing the district who lives in another county might not be as focused on north Brevard.

"I'm a little concerned about the slippage to the north" in the boundaries of Senate District 8 and House District 30, Diesel said. "It seemed very odd. That makes no sense to me. The numbers are stacked against you."

Furthermore, Diesel noted that the city of Titusville will be split into two House districts, with northern and central Titusville in District 30 and southern Titusville in District 31.

'Additional influence'

In addition to Fine, Brevard County had another representative on the House Redistricting Committee that helped draw the new legislative maps — Tyler Sirois of Merritt Island, who also served as chairman of the House Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee. Like all the other members of the Brevard delegation to the Florida Legislature, Fine and Sirois are Republicans.

Sirois said he is optimistic about how Brevard County fared in the redistricting, including having five House seats.

"Additional representation in the Florida House is good for Brevard County," Sirois said. "We will have one additional House member representing Brevard County who can pursue funding and policies important to our area. The Indian River Lagoon, for example, impacts our entire region — so having an additional member from our area will further support our delegation’s efforts."

There also will be more representation from among the Brevard delegation on House policy and appropriations committees, "and, with that will come additional influence for our county in Tallahassee," Sirois said.

"Providing constituent services is also an important aspect of being a legislator," Sirois said. "So having an additional member will help our residents get connected when they have questions or need assistance."

Sirois' current District 51 in central Brevard was modified in becoming the new District 31 — including south Titusville being added to the district. The rest of Titusville is in District 30 — the district that stretches into Volusia County.

"Sometimes, a city split is unavoidable, due to population or other factors, and Titusville is one example," Sirois said. "It’s important to note that the state legislative maps are submitted to the Florida Supreme Court for review, and were adopted without challenge."

Sirois — who is unopposed this year and will be elected to his third two-year term in the new District 31 — said he already has made contacts with some of his soon-to-be new constituents.

"I will work closely with the new representative elected by District 30 to make sure that Titusville is well-represented," Sirois said.

'Another voice, another vote'

Christopher Muro, an associate professor in political science at Eastern Florida State College, sees positives from the changes in the new legislative district maps.

“We're picking up a seat" in the House, Muro said. "And I don't think there can be any downside to this."

“This means that we're going to have another voice and another vote from the Brevard delegation," Muro said. "That just means Brevard’s interests are going to be more prominent in the Legislature, and more likely to be received amicably from other legislators."

“So projects and improvements to our county, I think, are going to be much more readily received. Because we're going to have more clout, more weight, more value in the overall Legislature,” Muro said. "From a political point of view, I think this is all good news."

Muro pointed to the newly created Florida House District 34 — which includes only a small southern slice of Brevard — as an illustrative example.

Today, Fine represents House District 53, which encompasses southern Brevard from roughly U.S. 192 to the Indian River County line.

The new District 34 takes small part of Fine's current district within Brevard — generally extends only east of Babcock Street and south of Valkaria Airport, including communities like Barefoot Bay and Micco.

And a resident of Indian River County — not Brevard — will represent District 34, since the two Republicans and one Democrat seeking the seat all live in Indian River.

However, Muro said both bordering counties have many similar issues politically, such as the health of the Indian River Lagoon and growth management.

“The Brevard County section of that new District 34 is still relevant. It's still significant. And I would argue that Indian River and Brevard County have a camaraderie there. There's a history there,” Muro said. “The makeup of Indian River County and Brevard County are not dissimilar. I think it's a congruent fit."

Additionally, Muro said, the new legislator in District 34 "is going to need allies in the Legislature to move legislation forward. And those natural allies are going to be, of course, the other members of the Brevard delegation. So I think it's a win-win."

Fine, who represents current House District 53, is running for reelection in the new House District 33 against Democrat Anthony Yantz of Palm Bay.

Like Sirois, Rep. Thad Altman of Indialantic is unopposed. He currently represents District 52 and will be in District 32 after November.

Also unopposed for reelection is Senate Majority Leader Debbie Mayfield of Indialantic, who represents the current Senate District 17 and the future District 19.

There was little change in the congressional district map for U.S. House District 8, now represented by U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge. The district continues to include all of Brevard and Indian River counties and part of eastern Orange County.

Democrats Danelle Dodge of Cape Canaveral and Joanne Terry of Satellite Beach are running in an Aug. 23 primary, with the winner facing Posey in November.

Tyler Vazquez contributed to this story.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @bydaveberman.

Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1

Support local journalism and journalists like me. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Impact of fifth Florida House seat for Brevard remains to be seen