ABBEVILLE, LA - Some Abbeville residents expressed frustration Tuesday night after city officials revealed a new redistricting map just minutes into the council meeting, leaving many concerned about transparency and representation.
“We had been waiting for the map because we knew when we came last month that there was going to be a change to the map,” said Marilyn Mitchell, secretary of the NAACP's Vermilion Parish chapter. “So, we waited and the first time we saw it was tonight.”
The city adopted their new map during council meeting.
Civil rights groups, including the NAACP and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), criticized the city’s handling of the process, saying officials were undermining public involvement.
“We’re disappointed that we just saw this map,” said Ahmed Soussi, senior legal representative with the SPLC. “The city of Abbeville, throughout this process, has talked about community buy-in. It shows that they don’t care about the community to post the map 15 minutes in the meeting.”
The city contends the map complies with all legal requirements. During last month’s meeting, council members opted not to include a redistricting proposal submitted by the NAACP, instead choosing to revise their own version.
Councilwoman Terry Broussard, who represents District D, defended the process, stating she worked to incorporate concerns raised by the NAACP.
“We took that map, came here to city hall, met with the attorney and I said let’s get close to the numbers that they want,” Broussard said. “I did that. I feel like I did my job in good faith and a clear conscience. I did what they asked me to do.”
According to city data, the adopted map would make populations within Districts C and D the same. Critics argue the changes fall short.
“We all live here and we all need to be respected and our voices need to be heard,” said Linda Cockrell, president of the NAACP’s Vermilion Parish chapter, who lives in District D.
Opponents of the new map claim it continues to concentrate Black voters into a single district, raising concerns about fair representation and voting power.
The city has not announced any further public hearings.
