The eight districts are gerrymandered so that a majority of the city’s Democrats are concentrated into districts 1, 2, and 4, and these districts are given up to Democrats. The other 5 districts are drawn with the hope of electing Republicans, thus giving the Council a 5-3 Republican majority. Although each of the other districts has more registered Democrats than Republicans, Wade’s goal is to elect Republicans in each of them. This goal can be accomplished by a combination of:

  1. Republicans in these districts actually voting
  2. Unaffiliated voters voting Republican
  3. Low turnout by Democrats
  4. Voter suppression of African American voters
  5. Expert Gerrymandering. (Board of Elections data is available which indicates the voting history of voters; Democrats who have a history of not voting are gerrymandered into districts that may show more Democrats than Republicans, but if the Democrats do not vote, Republicans can win.)

Issues that are important to Democrats will be defeated by the 5-3 Republican majority. Republican council members whose proposals are adopted will gain prominence in the community, and they may aspire to higher office.