2009 Knox County Commission
Introduction
Earlier this year, the Knox County Commission created a Redistricting Committee and assigned it the task of redrawing County Commission district lines. The two groups asked the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) to provide technical assistance related to the redistricting process. MPC is providing population data, geographic information systems (GIS) support, and other technical services to aid the Committee in its efforts.
Background
In November 2008, Knox County voters approved a Charter Amendment that reduced the number of County Commissioners from 19 to 11. The number of commission districts, nine, remained unchanged (see current districts and precincts map). Under the previous system, eight districts elected two commissioners, and one, District 5, elected three. The new guidelines state that nine of the 11 Commissioners will be elected from districts and two will be elected at large. To ensure equal representation under an 11-member body, population distribution among the nine districts must be adjusted. Redistricting, or reapportionment, of County Commission districts must occur in preparation for the May 4, 2010 County primaries. (Reapportionment based on the results of the 2010 Census will commence some time after April 2011 when 2010 Census data become available.)
July 8, 2009 Meeting: Plans for Consideration (Posted June 29, 2009)
Following the June 23rd Redistricting Committee Meeting, the Committee Chairman worked with MPC staff to draft revisions to Redistricting Plans 3 and 7A. The result of that work is two new alternative plans which incorporate comments provided by Committee members, Knox County Commissioners and members of the public. The two new plans, 3A and 7B, will be considered along with plans 3, 6 and 7A at the next meeting of the Knox County Redistricting Committee which has been scheduled for July 8th, 2009 at 3 PM in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building.
Parties interested in submitting their own revisions to Plan 3, 6 and 7A should do so no later than the close of business on Wednesday July 1, 2009 and should file those revisions with the Knox County Commission Office. Plans should adhere to the Redistricting Committee guidelines adopted at the April 1, 2009 meeting and should be based on existing Plans 3, 6 and 7A; no new plans will be accepted at this time.
Maps and detailed reports for each of the plans are available in PDF format by clicking the links in the table below:
Note: Large maps are approximately 3.5M in size and may take longer to download depending upon your connection speed. If you experience long page load times, right-click the link, choose "save target as," save the file, then open it locally.
June 23, 2009 Meeting: Plans Considered (Posted June 15, 2009)
At its June 2, 2009 meeting, the Knox County Commission Redistricting Committee selected two plans for consideration at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, June 23rd. These were plans 3 and 7A. Maps showing the name of each precinct are now available for download. Additionally, large format PDF files of each map measuring 48” x 36” are also available. Large maps are approximately 3.5M in size and may take longer to download depending upon the speed of your connection. (If you experience long page load times, right-click the link, choose "save target as", save the file, then open it locally.)
Revised Redistricting Plans (Posted May 29, 2009)
The following plan revisions were submitted to the Redistricting Committee for consideration in place of the original plan submission. All redistricting plans posted May 19, 2009 remain under consideration by the Redistricting Committee and will be evaluated at the June 2nd meeting. A map and detailed report for each plan is available in PDF format by clicking the links in the table below:
Redistricting Plans (Posted May 19, 2009)
The Redistricting Committee will be evaluating several plan alternatives to determine which one best meets criteria that were adopted at its April 1, 2009 Meeting. The following is a summary of those criteria:
- Move whole precincts/wards
- Maintain conformity with the Voter’s Rights Act
- Minimize the number of voters moved to new Commission districts
- Minimize the number of incumbent commissioners moved to new districts
- Keep communities together/protect community character
Plans listed in the following table will be discussed at a Redistricting Committee meeting on June 2, 2009 at 2:00 in the Main Assembly Room of the City County building. A map and detailed report for each plan is available in PDF format by clicking the links in the table below.
Redistricting Plan |
Overall Range |
Total Population Moved |
Incumbents in Original District |
Plan Notes |
Plan 1: Map and Statistics |
8.50% |
67,430 |
16 |
. |
Plan 2: Map and Statistics |
8.11% |
44,931 |
16 |
Fewest people moved while meeting range requirement |
Plan 3: Map and Statistics |
5.43% |
55,263 |
14 |
Lowest overall range |
Plan 4: Map and Statistics |
7.30% |
74,809 |
17 |
. |
Plan 5: Map and Statistics |
9.36% |
70,724 |
17 |
. |
Plan 6: Map and Statistics |
9.39% |
84,746 |
17 |
Knox County School Board Districts adjusted to fit within wards/precincts |
Plan 7: Map and Statistics |
6.13% |
61,436 |
16 |
Town of Farragut Plan |
Plan 8: Map and Statistics |
12.37% |
44,065 |
19 |
Dr. Frank Leuthold Plan. Precinct totals compiled in conjunction with the Knox County Election Commission, Office of Local Government and adopted by Knox County Redistricting Committee were not used in the formulation of this proposal. Submitter reported an overall range of 6.5% and population moved totaling 41,900 based on an adjusted set of precinct totals used in the 2001 Knox County Commission Redistricting Ordinance (O-01-7-103) |
May 7, 2009 Background Materials
April 1, 2009 Background Materials
Population and Demographic Summaries
Contact information for the Knox County Commission:
Suite 603 City County Building
Knoxville, TN 37902
Phone: 865.215.2534
Knox County Commission website
