NAACP: Reno districts rob poor

Local NAACP president Lonnie Feemster last week blasted the existing districts for Reno City Council seat and called on the Council not to rely merely on population adjustments to those districts when they draw new maps.

He said low-income neighborhoods in central Reno have been partitioned to reduce their voting power.

“Currently, the most egregious offense is the Ward 3 and Ward 4 boundary down Montello Street, which clearly violates the concepts of the Voting Rights Act,” he told the Council. “After discussing this boundary issue with hundreds of northeast Reno residents over the past year, not a single one thought it right to split the community in this way. Currently, two-fifths of the population control five-fifths of the Reno City Council.”

The Council directed its staff to meet with the NAACP and other interested groups before making recommended election maps final.