With balanced population, no district redrawing needed

Longboat Key residents won’t see town commission candidates on the ballot until 2021, but when they do, the districts in which they vote will remain the same.

Six months after every March municipal election, the town audits its population of registered voters to ensure a balance remains in the districts from which five of seven commissioners are elected.

According to the town charter, as long as population totals don’t vary by more than 20% from the largest to the smallest, the town isn’t required to redraw lines.

In the most recent survey of population, the variance was 12%, so no changes are in the offing.

The survey showed:

District 1 (1,339 population, 20.3% of total): Sherry Dominick’s term runs until March 2023;

District 2 (1,272 population, 19.2% of total): George Spoll’s term runs until March 2021 and he is eligible to run for another term;

District 3 (1,416 population, 21.4% of total): Ken Schneier’s term runs until March 2023;

District 4 (1,246 population, 18.8% of total): Jack Daly’s term runs until March 2021 and he will be term-limited from running for re-election;

District 5 (1,320 population, 20% of total): Ed Zunz, runs until March 2023.

At large commissioner BJ Bishop and vice mayor Mike Haycock do not represent geographical districts. Their terms run until 2023 and 2021, respectively.

In the last charter-review cycle, voters approved the current system of three-year terms for commissioners, with each allowed to serve two consecutive terms. Commissioners previously were permitted to serve three, two-year terms.