The Hamilton County Commission on Wednesday continued to hash out issues regarding minority representation and community togetherness as members decide on political boundaries using new population data from the 2020 census.
The workshop was set to begin by 10:15 a.m., according to advertisements put out before the meeting, but the meeting started closer to 12:30 p.m. As a result, several commissioners announced they would be unable to attend – Chip Baker, R-Signal Mountain, Tim Boyd, R-Chattanooga, Katherlyn Geter, D-Ridgeside, and Greg Martin, R-Hixson.
Those present focused their discussion around maintaining districts that have a majority of minority residents and keeping communities – such as municipalities, school zones or distinct geographic areas – together so their residents can have the same representative on the commission.
The commission has been considering expanding to 11 members from the current nine.
(READ MORE: Questions arise about impact on schools from Hamilton County redistricting)