City of Greenville begins redistricting process. District 4 will lose more than 5,000 people

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - You often hear about how much Greenville has grown and that population growth is reflected in the 2020 Census data. Because of that, now it’s time to redraw city district lines.

The city of Greenville’s population has grown by 21%, that’s more than 12,000 people. Which means, the city council will have to redistribute a large portion of the population to make all these districts equal again. It could also mean many might have new representation or new voting precinct.

“It’s no surprise that we’re seeing what we’re seeing” said Wil Brassington.

More homes and more apartments, means more people. Redistricting is a tedious process leaders must combat every 10 years. It’s fueled by growth.

“That growth was not equally distributed across all 4 political districts” said councilman Wil Brassington who represents District 4.

It was across three districts which all grew by 11% or less. As for district 4 - it grew by 52%.

“It’s rather unexpected to see such a market and disproportionate amount of growth” he said.

Brassington says the popular areas in his district seem to be Verdae and around Laurens road.

“There’s also been a lot of development in district 4 and even redevelopment by the vacant land over the course of the preceding decade” he said.

Brassington’s district will have to lose more than 5,000 people. There’s also change in the racial makeup of districts. Before, districts 2 and 3 were majority-Black. Now, they’re majority-White, and there are no majority-minority districts.

“The main impact of our city residents is to make sure that their interests, their concerns, and their needs are equally represented proportionally” said Brassington.

Brassington says the council will have new lines ready by January, and those will be in effect by the next election.

Public meetings will be held in each Council district. Residents can attend any of the meetings as the information shared will be the same. All meetings will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and include:

• Thursday, September 22 - Greenville Technical College, Student Success Center, Building 102 (District 4)
• Monday, October 3 - Unity Park Welcome Center (District 2)
• Tuesday, October 4 - Nicholtown Community Center (District 3)
• Monday, October 17 - Bobby Pearse Community Center (District 1)

More information click here.

Copyright 2022 WHNS. All rights reserved.