By Ray King
With no dissent, the Pine Bluff City Council on Thursday approved an ordinance reapportioning the four wards of the city.
This was the council’s third try at approving an ordinance to realign the wards following the 2020 census and the loss of population in the city.
After the meeting, Mayor Shirley Washington told Deltaplex News the next steps in the process.
The Mayor went on to say that the Jefferson County Clerk will have until Jan. 31 to make the necessary changes to the voting precincts. Filing for office begins Feb. 22.
Last week, two proposed maps were presented to council members during a special meeting, one of which was eliminated because it put current 2nd Ward Council member Steven Shaner on the wrong side of West 46th Avenue, where he lives, and in the 3rd Ward.
The second map was approved, and the council adopted an ordinance to that effect but this week, in another special meeting, that ordinance was repealed because of objections by Council member Glen Brown Sr. who complained that the new lines for Ward 3, which he represents, removed an area he had represented in the past that included some of his relatives and friends.
A third map was designed, restoring the area Brown had complained about to Ward 3, and that one was adopted, along with an emergency clause so that it will go into effect immediately.
