UNPUBLISHED: Open Letter to County Council on Redistricting

”Dear Members of Spartanburg County Council:

I am writing this Open Letter because of my disappointment in your efforts around the redistricting of County Council districts.

I initiated communication with all members of the County Council in June of 2021. I again reached out to all members, in written form, in November of 2021. Each time I wrote a letter requesting information and time-lines for County Council redistricting. Disappointingly, during that time, I received one response from Councilwoman Jessica Coker requesting I speak to Council during regular session.

During your January 2022 meeting, I spoke to County Council requesting public and open sessions regarding redistricting, and to genuinely receive public input in public meetings. Disappointingly, only Councilman Monier Abusaft responded and held a public input session on February 10, 2022 at the TK Gregg Community Center for his District One. During that session, the County Assistant Administrator Kevin Stiens presented the proposed County maps. Then the NAACP presented a proposed map, then the Spartanburg Local Redistricting Advisory Committee (LRAC) presented 2 proposed maps. However, that session ended with Councilman Abusaft stating he would not consider any of our input and would only consider the County’s proposed maps. This was disappointing because prior to the Public Input session he and I agreed to be open and consider all input. In essence, he slammed the door on public input.

Two weeks following that session, I and another member of the LRAC spoke at the February 24th meeting of County Council. We asked for public sessions outside of council meetings, and we asked for their opinions of public input from Councilman Abusaft’s Public Input session. To my outraged surprise, the other 6 members of County Council were not aware of our input to redistricting. I directly asked Chairman Manning Lynch for a response. He had none because he had not seen or reviewed the submitted maps. Now this is disturbing because the County had put maps up in County Library branches asking for public input. At the time of this Council meeting, the County had received 2 comments, in addition to comments from the LRAC and the NAACP. Chairman Lynch did ask the Assistant County Administrator for his opinion, which he gave. And he also asked Councilman Abusaft for his opinion which he gave. And again, Councilman Abusaft discounted the input received from the LRAC and NAACP. But more importantly, the Councilman never shared input from his Public Input session with fellow members on Council.

How could he not share this information? This made a mockery of asking the public for input on a very important matter and never taking it into consideration.

At the February 24th general meeting, Council indicated it would take its final and third reading on March 7th during regular session. On March 3 rd at 5:15pm, Council posted on its website that a public hearing would be held on redistricting at 2pm on March 7th. In essence giving 3 days notice of the public hearing. And it was scheduled during normal working hours. I did not attend the 2pm hearing. Then the regular Council meeting which was scheduled for 5:15pm on March 7th was not streamed live.

The redistricting maps were approved without discussion.

Fellow citizens of Spartanburg County, our elected representatives did not operate in an environment of fairness nor consideration during this process. They did not in honest consider Public Input. They did not fairly hold public hearings outside of council meetings for the public to attend. Yes, they did hold one public meeting with basically 3 days notice, posting the notice after normal business hours on a Thursday for a meeting Monday during working hours. They appeared to have their minds made up when the process started.

And they made a mockery of public input!

This is not what I wanted or expected from our public elected office holders. And by the way, their decision on district lines will last for the next 10 years, until 2031. We deserve better from all of our locally elected office holders. And we did not get it during this process.”

-Charles Mann

Member of the Spartanburg Local Redistricting Advisory Committee and South Carolina Redistricting Advocate