McCord v. City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida Order and Opinion

    UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
No. 0 3-6182-Civ-NCR

ALLIE K. MC CORD, JOSEPH POWELL, JR.; )
ROSE MARIE SAULSBY; ILMA M. JAMES;
MARGARET HARDEN; ALZEN F. FLOYD, SR.; )
and the SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP 
CONFERENCE (SCLC) OF BROWARD COUNTY, )
FLORIDA, on behalf of themselves and 
all others similarly situated, )

Plaintiffs,
\

V S  . O R D E R
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA; )
ROBERT A. DRESSLEr, Mayor of Fort 
Lauderdale; ROBERT O. COX, Vice-Mayor; )
VIRGINIA S. YOUNG, Mayor Pro-Tern;
Commission Members of the City of Fort )
Lauderdale, Florida, RICHARD A. MILLS,
JR.; and JOHN E. RODSTROM, JR.,; their )
successors and agents, all in their 
official capacities, )

Defendants. )

SUA SPONTE, because of the desire of this Court that this 
opinion and decision would neither affect this year's City elections 
nor be affected by the final results, the Court is entering this 
opinion on the late afternoon of the day of the general election.

This Court reserves the right to correct minor matters as
to form or completeness.

DONE AND ORDERED at Fort Lauderdale, Florida this ) f  

of March, 1985.
day

n

NORMAN ROETTER, JR
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Copies furnished counsel



V

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 83-6182-Civ-Roettger

ALLIE K. McCORD; JOSEPH 
POWELL, JR.; ROSE MARIE SAULSBY;
ILMA M. JAMES; MARGARET HARDEN;
ALZEN F. FLOYD, SR.; and the 
SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP 
CONFERENCE (SCLC) OF BROWARD COUNTY, 
FLORIDA, on behalf of themselves and 
all others similarly situated,

Plaintiffs, O P I N I O N
vs .
CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA; 
ROBERT A. DRESSLER, Mayor of Fort 
Lauderdale; ROBERT 0. COX, Vice-Mayor; 
VIRGINIA S. YOUNG, Mayor Pro-Tern; 
Commission Members of the City of 
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, RICHARD A. 
MILLS, JR.; and JOHN E. RODSTROM, JR.; 
their successors and agents, all in 
their official capacities,

Defendants.

Plaintiffs sued the city of Fort Lauderdale, claiming 
violation of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1973 in the 
city's at-large elections for city commissioner.

It is important to bear in mind that an attempt to 
discriminate or a discriminatory motive is not required under the 
act following the 1982 amendment. Now, a sufficient violation is 
shown—Lf— a discriminatory purpose or result may be inferred from 
the voting practices.

The exact wording of the statute, as amended, is as
uws :



§ 1973. Denial or abridgement of right to vote on
account of race or color through voting qualifications 
or prerequisites; establishment of violation

(a) No voting qualification or prerequisite to 
voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be 
imposed or applied by any State or political 
subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or 
abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United 
States to vote on account of race or color, or in 
contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 
1973b(f)(2) of this title, as provided in subsection 
(b) of this section.

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(b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section 
is established if, based on the totality of 
circumstances, it is shown that the political processes 
leading to nomination or election in the State or 
political subdivision are not equally open to 
participation by members of a class of citizens 
protected by subsection (a) of this section in that its 
members have less opportunity than other members of the 
electorate to participate in the political process and 
to elect representatives of their choice. The extent 
to which members of a protected class have been elected 
to office in the State or political subdivision is one 
circumstance which may be considered: Provided, That
nothing in this section establishes a right to have 
members of a protected class elected in numbers equal 
to their proportion in the population. (As amended 
Pub. L. 97-205, § 3, June 29, 1982, 96 Stat. 134.)

The trial evidence focused on the elections held since
70, primarily because the serious efforts in a black candidacy

began about that time. The candidacies prior to about 1970 on
the part of black candidates appeared obviously to be a "testing

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of the waters," while the candidacies beginning about 1970 have
been definite efforts on the part of all candidates, with perhaps 
one exception.

Both sides treated 1970 as if it 
starting date for our critical examination 
prior to then were covered in the evidence

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were the important 
although the matters 
by both sides possibly



for historical completeness. E.g., plaintiffs' exhibit 1 (PX1)
gives exhaustive detail of the elections since 1970.

Since 1970 there has been an election in 1971, 1973,
1975, 1977, and in both 1979 and 1982 for three-year terms. All 
of the commissioners have been white throughout this period, 
except Fort Lauderdale elected a city commissioner, who was 
black, in the at-large elections in 1973, 1975, and 1977. That 
candidate was the same person, Andrew De Graffenreidt.

Key Facts for a Frame of Reference
There is no dispute between the parties as to the

following:
1. There have been four "open seats"— no incumbent 

running— since 1970. The parties agree that open seats are the 
key races to demonstrate electability.

2. Twenty-one percent of the city's present population
is black.

3. One open seat was won by Mr. De Graffenreidt, who 
is black, in 1973, and he was re-elected in 1975 and 1977.

4. In 1975 and 1977 Mr. De Graffenreidt received 
enough votes in identifiable white precincts to win election as 
commissioner without any votes from black precincts.

5. Arthur Kennedy, also black, lost by a narrow margin 
in the last election in 1982.

6. Black voter turnout has equaled (within one percentage 
point) or exceeded white voter turnout (often substantially), 
percentagewise, in every election since 1970 but one.



7. Since the city's founding in 1911, commissioners 
(formerly council members) have been elected at large.

And, although not conceded by plaintiff, Fort 
Lauderdale is not a part of the "Old South"; instead, most of its 
white citizens come from the Northeast or Midwest.

These facts and others relevant to this decision will 
be treated in more detail throughout this opinion.

Historical Background of City's Electoral System
The city of Fort Lauderdale was incorporated by the 

Florida State Legislature in 1911. From 1911 to 1925, Fort 
Lauderdale was governed by a Mayor-Council form of government; 
and since 1925 the city has maintained a Mayor-Commission form of 
government. Since 1911 there have been five members on the Fort 
Lauderdale City Council or Commission (the term Commission has 
been utilized since 1925).

From 1911 to 1917 the mayor served one year and the 
council members for two years with staggered terms. In 1917 and 
continuing to 1921, the mayor and the council served two 
years, with the council serving staggered terms. Of the five 
council members elected in 1922, the two candidates receiving the 
highest number of votes served two years, and the two candidates 
receiving the lowest number of votes served one year. In 1923 
the mayor and council were elected for one year; two years with 
concurrent terms in 1925; two years with staggered terms from 
1929 to 1947. From 1947 to 1951, commissioners were elected for 
four-year staggered terms, and from 1951 to 1979 they served



f

two-year concurrent terms. Since 1979, the mayor and 
commissioners have served three-year concurrent terms.

Election of Council Members and Commissioners 
by Ward, Districts, or At-Large

Since 1911 council members or commissioners have been 
elected at-large. From 1913 to 1923, four of five commission 
members were elected at-large, but they ran from districts in 
which they resided. One of five ran at-large, but not from any 
district. The residency requirement was deleted from 1923 to 
1929. From 1929 to 1947, the four and one split was again 
instituted, but from 1947 to the present, the system has been 
that all commissioners are elected at-large, but with no 
residency requirements.1/ In the 1979 election, only four 
commissioners were elected at-large with the fifth running 
separately as mayor, also at-large, but in 1982 the separate 
mayoralty race was abolished with all five commissioners being 
elected at large, as usual. City commissioners are elected by 
plurality vote in both the primary and general elections. In the 
primary election, the 10 candidates who receive the highest 
number of votes become candidates in the general election; and in 
the general election, the five candidates who receive the highest 
number of votes become city commissioners.

\

/
1/However, plaintiffs in this case rejected this solution of 

a residence district requirement from five districts in the city 
with at-large voting for the elections of persons from the 
various districts, despite the fact this would almost guarantee 
the election of a black commissioner. This proposal was made by 
the court in an effort to resolve the situation without extensive litigation.

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Since 1913 the candidates elected to office were those
receiving a plurality of votes. The one receiving the highest 
number of votes was declared to be the mayor-commissioner, and 
the one receiving the second highest was declared to be 
vice-mayor-commissioner.

There is no white or segregated primary in the city of
Fort Lauderdale. There is no prohibition against single-shot
voting. There is no requirement for majority vote and there
never has been except from 1923 to 1925. During that period, the
----------majority vote requirement was used when there were only two 

candidates. In those elections during this period, where there 
were more than two candidates for a position, only a plurality of 
votes was required to be elected. Therefore, as a practical 
matter, there never has been a requirement for a majority vote, 
even during those two years.

Population and Demographic Statistics for the City
The population of Fort Lauderdale in the 1980 census 

was a total of 153,279, of whom 32,225 (21%) were black. Fifty 
years earlier, the 1930 census showed a total population of 
8,666, of whom 1,994 (23%) were black.

The city produced expert testimony2/ that Fort 
Lauderdale has only 23% native Floridians, a much lower figure 
than for several other cities in Florida. An examination of the 
demographic patterns of immigration from 1975 to 1980 indicates 
that 45% of Fort Lauderdale's residents came from the 
____________________/

2/Professor Susan A. MacManus, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio.



northeastern part of the United States, 18% from the Midwest, and 
only 17% from other southern communities. This demographic 
pattern is similar to prior demographic patterns.

The evidence reveals that Fort Lauderdale is a part of 
"New Florida" with a more tolerant and unbiased racial attitude 
while some other comparative communities in Central and North 
Florida reflect "Old Florida," which itself is like the "Old 
South."

Black Candidates for the Fort Lauderdale City Commission
The black candidates prior to about 1970 appeared to be 

largely a testing of the political waters and began with 
Nathanial Wilkerson in 1957; almost no evidence was introduced as 
to his campaign. In 1963, Thomas Reddick, a lawyer, ran for city 
commission, and in 1967 a full slate of five candidates, all of 
whom were black, ran for city commission: Horace Lewis, Helen
Morris, Edison Wheeler, Tom Reddick, and Walter Sullivan. The 
announced purpose of the campaign, according to Commissioner De 
Graffenreidt, was to see if black voters would go to the polls.
In 1969 and 1971, Alcee Hastings, a lawyer and presently a United 
States District Judge, ran, but finished seventh.

In 1973, Andrew De Graffenreidt ran for the city 
commission and was elected; Commissioner De Graffenreidt was 
re-elected in both 1975 and 1977. In 1979, Commissioner De 
Graffenreidt ran for re-election as a city commissioner and was 
narrowly defeated, for reasons to be discussed at more length 
later. In 1982, two black candidates ran: Arthur Kennedy,
President of the Broward Classroom Teacher's Association,

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narrowly lost, and a young college student, Louis Alston, ran 
with a rather unsubstantial showing.

The comments of the candidates about their own races 
are instructive as to their respective defeats. Tom Reddick, who 
ran in 1963 and 1967, analyzed that Republicans were getting 
elected in his campaigns and he was a Democrat. Horace Lewis, 
who ran in 1967, spent less than $100 and took out no ads. Helen 
Morris, who also ran in 1967, took out only one ad and limited 
her campaigning to one street. Neither Morris nor Lewis had been 
active in city affairs before then, although Morris has since 
been appointed to serve on an advisory board.

Alcee Hastings, a candidate in 1969 and 1971, 
attributes his election difficulties to many things: Someone
gave him 5,000 bumper stickers but because they did not have the 
union "bug" on them, the unions were mad at him. He attributes 
his drop from fifth or sixth in 1969 to seventh in the general 
election to the fact that more people knew he was black; he 
further felt that black Democrats support white Democrats but not 
vice versa.

In 1973, 1975, and 1977, Andrew De Graffenreidt was 
elected, but then after two races for other positions lost in 
1979. (His successor, Bert Frazer, ran but was defeated in 
1982.) The matter that seemed largest to Commissioner De 
Graffenreidt for his defeat was "because I resigned to run [for 
the county commission in 1978] and was reappointed [by his fellow 
members on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission], the press was 
unsupportive." The Fort Lauderdale News did not endorse him in



1979 because of that, although he had enjoyed the endorsement of 
The Fort Lauderdale News in previous campaigns. The State of 
Florida requires that one must resign to run for a state office. 
Consequently, in 1976 when Commissioner De Graffenreidt ran for 
Congress, he did not resign, but when he ran for the county 
commission in 1978, he had to resign his city of Fort Lauderdale 
City Commission post. The other city commissioners— all 
white— deliberately kept the position vacant until they saw what 
the results of the county commission race would be. When 
Commissioner De Graffenreidt lost, he was reappointed by his 
fellow members of the city commission to his old seat.

Additionally, Commissioner De Graffenreidt felt the 
voters were unhappy because he had opposed buying the Bartlett 
Estate (the last large available undeveloped tract on Fort 
Lauderdale Beach), and he blames that for a drop in his vote 
totals. Not only did he oppose it, but Commissioners Young and 
Mills also opposed it and their vote totals dropped, too; 
however, the city's overall vote totals dropped 3,546 votes from 
the 1977 election to the 1979 election, with the totals for Mayor 
Shaw— running specifically for mayor this time— dropping by 2,134 
votes. Commissioners De Graffenreidt, Young, and Mills dropped 
their vote totals by 2,165, 1,960, and 1,474, respectively, but 
Commissioner Cox dropped only 195 votes. Commissioner 
De Graffenreidt testified he "lost luster" in the black community 
and the voter turnout ebbed (confirmed by election statistics).

Arthur Kennedy, who narrowly lost by about 3% of the 
total votes cast in 1982, felt that a big turnout was important

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for him because the more people who voted, the better off he 
would be as a candidate. However, the turnout was low at 
election. Clearly, the matter that bothered Mr. Kennedy the most 
was the fact that three power brokers (as he describes them) whom 
he avoided and also did not solicit money from, were unhappy with 
him, and he feels two of them were behind a letter mailed out on 
the Saturday before the election. His staff advised him not to 
respond to it, but he wishes he had done so.

The court asked to see the letter and it was received 
as a court exhibit. The letter is on the letterhead of the 
Broward County Republican Party, reminding the voters of Fort 
Lauderdale that the property taxes in the county had doubled 
since the Broward County Commission was "taken over by Democrats" 
four years earlier. The letter went on to point out that the 
conservative Republican majority on the Fort Lauderdale City 
Commission had controlled spending and kept the city taxes in 
line. Then the letter specifically sounds the bugle for the 
Republican party faithful, pointing out that a majority of the 
top five finishers in the primary were Democrats, one a 
27-year-old candidate running for the first time, and Arthur
Kennedy^  descrjjaed as— 'La. labor_leader that has a direct interest
in 'not rocking the boat, but sinking it,1_if_ he gets elected."
The letter then urged that Republican party members— presumably 
the only addressees of the letter— elect a conservative majority 
to the city commission and recommended four candidates: 
incumbents Bob Cox, Richard Mills, and newcomer candidates Rob 
Dressier and John Rodstrom. The fact that Art Kennedy was a

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former member of the Democratic Executive Committee was a matter 
undoubtedly not lost on the persons behind this election eve 
letter.

The letter was successful: The four persons
recommended were all elected in the 1982 general election. The 
city also elicited from Mr. Kennedy that he used up half or more 
than half of his campaign funds in the primary campaign rather 
than holding them for the general election, despite the existence 
of only 11 candidates and the primary would only reduce the field 
to 10 candidates.

Arthur Kennedy candidly observed that nearly all the 
commissioners in the last two decades have been Republicans--al1 
except for Mayor Young and Commissioner De Graffenreidt. He also 
acknowledged that Mayor Young is regarded in the white community 
as basically conservative, but that her support among "voters in 
the Northwest area...[is] almost a given."

Neither lawyer had seen the letter referred to by Mr. 
Kennedy (court exhibit 1), and there was no other evidence of 
partisan activity in past city elections. The evidence does show 
the exclusive preference of the Broward Citizens Committee for 
Republican candidates.

The Nine Factors
The first factor indicated in the Senate report an^

U.S. v. Dallas County Commission, 739 F.2d 1529, 1534 (11th Cir.
1984), is the extent of any history of official discrimination 
"that touched the right of minority groups to... participate in 
the democratic process." Turning to it at this time, this court 
permitted introduction of evidence of discrimination during the



post-Civil War period in enactments by the State of Florida and 
during the reconstruction throughout the remainder of the 19th 
century and early 20th century. The relevance of this evidence 
to the city of Fort Lauderdale is dubious because of the fact 
that Fort Lauderdale was not even a trading post at the time of 
Reconstruction; the court can take judicial notice of the 
historical fact that Frank Stranahan1s trading post on the New 
River was the nucleus around which Fort Lauderdale began, and a 
village began to take shape at the turn of the century, assisted 
greatly by the construction of Henry Flagler's railroad, which 
finally pushed down the Atlantic coast to Miami in 1896. As 
noted earlier, Fort Lauderdale did not become a city until 1911. 
Whatever may have been the situation in the state of Florida in 
the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, there 
have been almost none of the usual badges of bias against 
minorities participating in the political process: There has
been no white or segregated primary in the city; there has been
no prohibition against single-shot voting, and no_■•py1' for
a majority vote. A poll tax was required to be paid for two 
years from 1911 to 1917; from 1917 to 1919 no poll tax was
required. In 1919, women's suffrage was obtained and poll taxes 
were reinstated, but since 1929 there have been no poll taxes 
required. The elections are officially nonpartisan.

However, there was evidence of discrimination against 
blacks in the city of Fort Lauderdale in the past.

In 1922 an ordinance was enacted which created a legal
color line" segregating blacks into the northwest area of the



city, west of the railroad tracks. A violation of this ordinance 
carried a penalty of both a fine and imprisonment. The ordinance 
remained basically in effect for 25 years.

In 1926 an ordinance was created which provided for the 
creation of a "Negro district" and "no residence or apartment 
house could be used to house Negro families with the exception of 
servants' quarters." Action was taken in 1929 to enforce the 
ordinance. In 1936 the boundary of the "Negro district" was 
redefined, and in 1939 the planning and zoning commission 
recommended an increase in the size of the "Negro district." A 
few months later, the ordinance was repealed with an ordinance 
restoring the "Negro district" to its earlier boundaries in 1942.

The advisory board recommended the acquisition of land 
for a buffer area around the "Negro district," and during the war 
Dillard School, the black high school, would be closed 
periodically so black children could work in the vegetable fields. 
That was challenged (unsuccessfully) in 1945 in federal court.
See Walker Civil League v. School Board, 154 F.2d 726 (5th Cir.
1946 ) .



The segregation ordinance about the "Negro district" 
was repealed in 1948.3/

Plaintiffs claim that Fort Lauderdale's abandonment of 
a district residency requirement in 1947 simply was a lock step 
or shadow effect to emulate the State of Florida in getting 
around Smith v. Allriqht, 321 U.S. 649 (1944), and the striking 
down of the white primary in Davis v. State ex rel. Cromwell, 156 
Fla. 181, 23 So.2d 85 (1945). However, the court cannot agree 
with plaintiffs' assertions because the simple fact of the matter 
is that Fort Lauderdale has had at-large elections of its city 
commissioners from the very beginning in 1911. Additionally, 
there has been no white primary, as such. There have been some 
requirements from time to time in the city's history that 
commissioners reside in certain districts but they still ran 
at-large.

There is no reason to conclude from the evidence in 
this case that the official discrimination, either in the State 
of Florida or in Fort Lauderdale, has adversely affected the 
right of the members of the plaintiff minority group either to 
register or to vote or otherwise to participate in the democratic 
____________________/

3/Tnere are other examples set forth in the evidence of 
discrimination, some tenuous to the point of being erroneous, 
such as newspaper clippings as to the Ku Klux Klan rallies in 
Central Florida. However, there have been some instances of 
discrimination in Fort Lauderdale; for example, the petition by 
some black residents to use the municipally-owned golf course 
during the 1950's. A city resolution (6247) expressed fear of 
adverse tourist reaction if the petition was granted. The United 
States Disrict Court ordered integration of the golf course and 
the city sold the golf course. There were also various petitions 
to hire black police officers to patrol in the black residential areas.



process. This is particularly true when we consider that, 
generally speaking, black voters since 1970 have voted, 
percentagewise, as much as or more than white voters in every 
election but one.

Moving on to the second matter pesented by the Senate 
report, the extent to which voting in Fort Lauderdale is racially 
polarized, we find a battle of expert witnesses with widely 
divergent conclusions. Plaintiff presented Dr. de la Garza, a 
professor at the University of Texas, while defendant relied on 
Dr. Bullock, a professor at the University of Georgia.

Dr. de la Garza relies on a bivariate statistical 
analysis; that is, he checks only the issue of race in 
determining what factors affected the votes cast for a candidate, 
whereas Bullock checked the voting patterns from a number of 
independent variables, including, but not limited to, incumbency 
of the candidate, campaign funds spent, whether male or female, 
whether newspaper endorsements were received, voter turnout 
either in the black or white community, the proportion of the 
registered voters who were black, jand party— "in some instances" 
(although the court does not believe this was fully explored or 
utilized.)

Although there has been some judicial consideration of 
bivariate vis-a-vis multi-variate analysis (and that will be 
discussed later in this order), the court wanted to compare the 
analyses when tested against some actual events and realities in 
order to determine which theory seemed to be more sound and of 
more assistance to the court in determining whether the at-large

.15



election system in Fort Lauderdale impacted illegally on the 
rights of the black citizens of the city.

Dr. de la Garza's analysis was fairly simple in that 
he counted every vote cast by a voter and then used raw scores of 
the number of votes for black candidates vis-a-vis the number of 
blacks registered in the precincts, coming up with a regression 
figure ranging from .81 to .99, with 13 of 18 elections over .90 
(De La Garza calculated all elections with a black candidate with 
the apparent exception of the 1963 primary and the 1979 
elect ions).

His second regression reflects the percentage of votes 
received by a black candidate as a function of turnout ratio 
(number of votes cast by a precinct as a function of a number of 
votes they could have cast). Tr. 256. The regressions ranged 
from .51 to .99. When the two analyses are combined, the R2 
ranges from .82 to .99, with most over .91.

Dr. de la Garza counts vote totals rather than voters 
(at least he does so with the white precincts), and therein lies 

(the statistical problem when methodology more suited for 
head-to-head elections is applied to this particular at-large 
system.

By comparison, Dr. Bullock examined the 12 elections 
since 1970: a primary and a general in 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1979 (only four commissioners elected), and 1982. There was at 
least one black candidate in each of these elections, and these 
are the elections the parties have focused on. (He apparently 
also compared the 1969 elections.) Dr. Bullock considered



several independent variables: newspaper endorsements, campaign
spending, incumbency, level of turnout in the black or white 
community, gender, as well as race, among others. He noted 
that in three of the 14 elections, a black candidate received 40% 
or more of the support of the white voters. Note: There has
been at least one black candidate in each of the 14 elections.
In seven other elections, a black candidate received between 30% 
and 39.9% support of the white voters.

Dr. Bullock also examined 15 other elections in which 
Fort Lauderdale citizens could vote which had black candidates 
competing against white candidates. In those 15, a majority of 
Fort Lauderdale citizens preferred black candidates in four 
elections: the Florida Supreme Court election in 1976 (then
Justice Hatchett, now Judge Hatchett of the U.S. Court of Appeals 
for the Eleventh Circuit), Alcee Hastings in the 1974 Public 
Service Commission primary, City Commissioner De Graffenreidt 
running for the Broward County Commission, plus another race. In 
addition, in other elections, four of the black candidates 
received 40% to 49.9% of the ^hite voteT]

In only two of the 14 Fort Lauderdale elections has a 
black candidate (Alston, in both instances) received less than 
20% of the'^white vote?, only those two races would indicate racial 
polarization under the Loewen standard (80%-20% polarization 
benchmark). Alston also ran less strongly in black precincts 
than had other black candidates.
_______________________/

4/Dr. de la Garza agrees these factors, and more, do affect 
elections. ic-c-ẑ  q -CU*j -vtoj ^py o lo^ue r
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Dr. Bullock also concluded that whites more generally

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0 vote for blacks than black voters for white candidates. Dr.
Bullock's conclusion was that the variable of race is not one of 
the important variables. His conclusions were that the important 
variables are like this: The candidate is more likely to win a
seat on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission if:

1. The candidate is an incumbent.
2. The candidate spends more.
3. The candidate receives newspaper endorsements.
4. White voter turnout is lower.

He concludes that race is not a statistically significant 
variable; in considering race along with the other four just 
listed, it only changes the result 6/10 of 1%. Dr. Bullock adds 
that being a female increases the likelihood of finishing better 
--more so than the effect of race.

Newspaper Endorsements
Dr. Bullock concluded that with one of the two major 

newspaper endorsements, the candidate would finish 1.4 places 
higher; with both of them, the candidate can expect to finish 
2.75 places higher. The two newspapers involved were The Fort 
Lauderdale News and the Broward County edition of The Miami Herald.

Problems with Professor de la Garza's Approach 
Dr. Bullock sets forth three reasons why Professor 

de la Garza's theory is wrong: First, it has an artificial upper
limit. E.g., if every white voter in the city voted for
Commissioner De Graffenreidt, the only black candidate in the 
race, but also exercised his option to vote for four other



candidates who necessarily were white, then the white voters 
could not be any more disposed favorably towards a black 
candidate than to cast a vote for that black candidate. Yet 
under De La Garza's theory, you would have a polarization score 
of 80 which would indicate racial polarization even under the 
Loewen theory. That would be racial polarization under the De La 
Garza theory, even though every white voter in the city had voted 
for the only black candidate.

The second reason Bullock concludes that De La Garza's 
theory is wrong is it depends on the number of minority 
candidates in the election, even if the voter attitude remains 
constant. Example: Assume there are 100 white voters and of
that 100, 25 will vote for a black candidate every opportunity 
they have. The remaining 75 will never vote for a black 
candidate. Each voter can cast five ballots, and there will 
presumably be a total of 500 ballots cast. If one black 
candidate is running, the black candidate gets 25 votes of the 
100 white voters, and that would be 25 votes of a total of 500 
votes cast which, under the De La Garza approach, gives a 
polarization score of 95%. If there are two black candidates 
running, the black candidates would get two times 25, or 50 votes 
out of the 500 votes cast, which would give a polarization score 
according to De La Garza of 90. Similarly, three black 
candidates would attract 75 out of 500 votes and the polarization 
score would be 85. With four black candidates, the polarization 
score falls to 80, and with five black candidates, they get 125 
votes, resulting in a polarization score of 75, according to

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De La Garza. Consequently, the attitudes in the white community 
in this illustration remain constant. The polarization score 
varies tremendously simply because of the number of options 
available to vote for black candidates.

In the third illustration, we assume the same voting 
attitudes of 100 white voters with 25 of them who will always 
vote for a black candidate. What will vary is the number of 
candidates the voter can vote for in a race, but only one black 
candidate is in each election contest. If you have a 
head-to-head race for the U.S. Congress with a black candidate 
competing with a white candidate, the 25 votes would end up with 
a De La Garza score of 75% polarization. However, in a 
hypothetical race for state representative (and the voters in 
this precinct can vote for two candidates for state 
representative), again, there is only one black candidate 
running, then 100 white voters would cast 200 ballots with 25 for 
the black candidate and the polarization score has now risen to 
87.5%. If in the same election there are three members of the 
local school board running at-large, in the same precinct of 100 
white voters, the black candidate would get 25 of those, 
producing a polarization score of 93.75%. Eventually you get to 
five slots to be filled, such as in the Fort Lauderdale City 
Commission. The same situation now produces a polarization score 
of 95%.

Dr. de la Garza does concede certain problems with his 
approach in attempting to determine voter polarization in Fort 
Lauderdale with his comment that "you can't translate voter



De La Garza. Consequently, the attitudes in the white community 
in this illustration remain constant. The polarization score 
varies tremendously simply because of the number of options 
available to vote for black candidates.

In the third illustration, we assume the same voting 
attitudes of 100 white voters with 25 of them who will always 
vote for a black candidate. What will vary is the number of 
candidates the voter can vote for in a race, but only one black 
candidate is in each election contest. If you have a 
head-to-head race for the U.S. Congress with a black candidate 
competing with a white candidate, the 25 votes would end up with 
a De La Garza score of 75% polarization. However, in a 
hypothetical race for state representative (and the voters in 
this precinct can vote for two candidates for state 
representative), again, there is only one black candidate 
running, then 100 white voters would cast 200 ballots with 25 for 
the black candidate and the polarization score has now risen to 
87.5%. If in the same election there are three members of the 
local school board running at-large, in the same precinct of 100 
white voters, the black candidate would get 25 of those, 
producing a polarization score of 93.75%. Eventually you get to 
five slots to be filled, such as in the Fort Lauderdale City 
Commission. The same situation now produces a polarization score 
of 95%.

Dr. de la Garza does concede certain problems with his 
approach in attempting to determine voter polarization in Fort 
Lauderdale with his comment that "you can't translate voter

. ;  w *  \ ± " " . H i jwm w *-



polarization in a conventional sense into this kind of election 
system," and "this particular type of at-large election is not 
readily quantifiable by political science."

Dr. de la Garza also could not explain, using the 
actual example from the 1973 election where there were 31 
candidates, only one of whom was black, and if a white voter cast 
a vote for the black candidate and four votes for white 
candidates, how those votes and that voter are not racially 
polarized under his bivariate theory. The nearest thing he could 
give as a reason for this apparent flaw in his theory was that 
(the white voter should have single-shot (bullet voted) his vote 

/ for the one black candidate if he really wanted the candidate to 
Comparing the two approaches, the court is left with 

very little confidence in the approach of Dr. de la Garza in view 
of its apparent ignoring of factors which plainly affect election 
results.

The Supreme Court in Teamsters v. U.S., 431 U.S. 234 
(1977), cautioned that "...statistics are not irrefutable; they 
come in infinite variety and, like any other kind of evidence, 
they may be rebutted. In short, their usefulness depends on all 
of the surrounding facts and circumstances." Id. at 340.

The Fifth Circuit in Wilkins v. Univ. of Houston, 654 
F.2d 388 (5th Cir. 1981), reh'q denied, 662 F.2d 1156 (5th Cir. 
1981), repeated its panel opinion statement on rehearing: 

_______________/
5/S ingle-shot or bullet voting is to vote for only one— or 

perhaps two— candidates in order to give maximum effect to your vote for that candidate.



"multiple regression analysis is a largely sophisticated means of 
determining the effect that any number of different factors have 
on a particular variable." [Emphasis supplied.] 654 F.2d at 
402, 662 F. 2d at 1157. Only one expert testified in the Wilkins 
case and introduced a series of independent variables affecting 
salary in a discrimination case. These various independent 
variables showed that when sex was added as the ninth independent 
variable, sex (gender) as a factor explains only .8 of 1% more of 
the variation around the average salary (the dependent variable).

when race is added to the other independent variables he applied 
to the voting statistics for past city commission races, the 
factor of race explains only .6 of 1% of the dependent variables 
of candidate success. Consequently, a totality of the evidence, 
including Dr. de la Garza's admitted difficulties in applying his 
bivariate analysis to the city's at-large election system,

In the instant case, Dr. Bullock's model shows that



compels the conclusion there has been no racial polarization 
showing a violation of the Voting Rights Act. 6/

A Voting Rights Act case, Jones v. City of Lubbock., 727 
F.2d 364 (5th Cir. 1984), reh'g denied, 730 F.2d 233 (5th Cir. 
1984), reveals that the city of Lubbock, Texas, has a total 
population only slightly larger than Fort Lauderdale, with a 
Mexican-American population of 17.9%, about halfway between Fort 
Lauderdale's 1970 black population percentage of 14.6% and its 
1980 black population percentage of 21%; additionally, there is 
an 8.2% black population in Lubbock which, unlike Fort 
Lauderdale, had never elected a minority group member to the city 
council, probably because of its majority vote requirement, again 
unlike Fort Lauderdale. The demography in Lubbock bears 
considerable resemblance to Fort Lauderdale.

Seldom does this court quote at length from any judge's 
analysis or opinion, particularly a concurring opinion, but Judge
________________________/

6/In many ways the instant case bears a striking statistical 
resemblance— at least in its development— to a case from the pay 
discrimination field, Boylan, et al. v. The New York Times. The 
Boylan plaintiffs were women employees of The New York Times, but 
the heart of the plaintiffs' classes were the female reporters. 
They claimed they were discriminated against paywise because of 
their gender, and the bivariate analysis based on sex alone 
supported their claim dramatically, much like Dr. de la Garza's 
bivariate regression analysis on race in the instant case.

However, as other valid independent variables were tested, 
such as the number of Pulitzer Prizes won, years of college, work 
experience prior to coming to work for The New York Times, 
seniority and tenure, etc., the disparity in pay's strong 
statistical support had diminished dramatically from what it 
appeared to have been at first. Alas, for purposes of this 
court's citations, the case settled a few days prior to trial in 
the United States District Court for the Southern District of New
York----------

23



Patrick Higginbotham's opinion is most applicable to the instant 
case, as follows:

Care must be taken in the factual development of the 
existence of polarized voting because whether polarized 
voting is present can pivot the legality of at-large 
voting districts. The inquiry is whether race or 
ethnicity was such a determinant of voting preference 
in the rejection of black or brown candidates by a 
white majority that the at-large district, with its 
components, denied minority voters effective voting 
opportunity. In answering the inquiry there is a risk 
that a seemingly polarized voting pattern in fact is 
only the presence of mathematical correspondence of 
race to loss inevitable in such defeats of minority 
candidates. The point is that there will almost always be a raw correlation with race in any tailing candidacy" 
of a minority whose racial or ethnic qFoup~~l.s mm khih 1 1 • 
a percentage of the total voti nq~~pooulation as here.Yet, raw correspondence, even at high levels,must 
accommodate the legal principle that the amended Voting 
Rights Act does not legislate proportional

detailed findings are required to support any 
conclusions of polarized voting. These findings must 
make plain that they are supported by more than the 
inevitable by-product of a losing candidacy in a 
predominately white voting population. Failure to do 
so presents an unacceptable risk of requiring 
proportional representation, contrary to congressional will.

730 F.2d at 234.
For the third factor considered by the Senate report 

and the court in Dallas County, the city has not had a majority
vote requirement or anti-single-shot provisions or any other



voting practices or procedures traditionally used to enhance the 
opportunity for discrimination against minority groups or its 
black citizens. The city has used at-large elections from the 
very beginning of the city, and it was not something that was 
incorporated to evade or circumvent the law of the land. As 
at-large elections are not prohibited per se by the Voting Rights 
Act.7/ United States v. Dallas County Commission, 739 F.2d 
at 1534 (11th Cir. 1984), this court finds no error in the 
continued use of the at-large system.

The fourth factor is whether there is a candidate 
slating process. There is not one in the city and no evidence 
has been adduced to that effect. Plaintiffs made an effort to 
intimate that the Broward Citizens Committee was a slating 
process under this factor. The Broward Citizens Committee is a 
group that interviews candidates but it recommends only 
Republicans, even though the city election is officially 
nonpartisan. This court cannot conclude from the evidence that 
it is necessary for a candidate to receive approval from the 
Broward Citizens Committee before success is enhanced or assured 
in the city elections. The evidence does not show that even one
of the black candidates who has run for the Fort Lauderdale City■ -— —--
Commission is a Republican. Inasmuch as former Mayor and 
____________________/

7/In fact, court after court has explicitly avoided such a 
holding: United States v. Dallas Countv Commission, 739 F.2d at1534 ( 11th Cir~i 19B4); United States v.Marenao County Commission, 731 F.2d at“T563 "(11th Cir. 19 84 ). See also Rogers 
v. Lodge, 458 U.S. 613 (1982); Brown v. Bd. of School Com'rs of 
Mobile County, Ala,, 706 F.2d at 1104 (11th Cir. 1983 ) ;-------- “
N^A.A.C.P. v. Gadsen County School Board, 691 F.2d at 981 (11th Cir. 1982).



long-time Commissioner Virginia Young does not receive the 
recommendation of the Broward Citizens Committee— despite her 
generally being regarded as a conservative in 
politics®/— one must conclude that this unofficial 
organization®/ simply furthers the interest of candidates who 
are Republicans. There are and have been prominent black 
citizens of Fort Lauderdale who are Republican^ but no evidence 
has been offered to indicate they ever sought the recommendation 
of the Broward Citizens Committee.

The fifth factor is the extent of the effects, if any, 
of discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and 
health on minority group members, "which hinder their ability to 
participate effectively in the political process."

Dr. de la Garza, plaintiffs' expert, testified that in 
nine of the twelve elections from 1971 to 1982, inclusive, black 
"turnout is equal to or higher than white turnout." In the other 
three elections, white turnout exceeded black turnout by less 
than 1% in two of them, and in only one election did white voter 
turnout exceed that of the black voters by as much as 2% (22% to 
20%). However, in five straight elections black voter turnout 
was larger by more than 8%, occasionally as much as 17%. 
Consequently, although the court received evidence presented by 
plaintiff in these areas, the qualification in the Senate report 
____________________/

®/See, e.g., testimony of Arthur Kennedy. 
____________________/

®/The testimony as to whether it is a registered political organization was inconclusive.



of effects "which hinder their ability to participate effectively 
in the political process" makes such evidence irrelevant as a 
practical matter.

Nevertheless, the court has considered whether any 
effects of discrimination —  or lingering effects —  in the field of 
education would adversely affect political participation.10/
The statistics referred to in Professor de la Garza's testimony 
indicate it did not affect the turnout of the black voters.

The court has even contemplated whether any lingering 
effects of education discrimination would affect the quality of 
the black candidates. That does not appear to have been the 
case: Alcee Hastings was a lawyer at the time of his candidacy;
Commissioner De Graffenreidt was an experienced educator and past 
Classroom Teacher of the Year; Art Kennedy was a high school 
coach and president of the county's Classroom Teachers 
Association, while Louis Alston was a college student at the time 
of his candidacy.

________________________/

10/The school system is not maintained on a citywide basis.
It is operated by a county school board so the City of Fort 
Lauderdale has no control or voice in the operation of the 
schools, including assignment of students or equality of 
instruction. There have been no schools built in the white 
residential areas of Fort Lauderdale since the 1960's, largely 
because the population centers— particularly for young 
families have moved to the western portion of the county, except 
for the largely childless condominium dwellers along the beach 
and Intracoastal. A second factor troubled the court about 
plaintiffs' expert testimony on education: he had not included
the high school sitting immediately outside the city limits of 
Fort Lauderdale (Northeast High School), which high school 
services a large population area of Fort Lauderdale. However, in his statistics, he included several other schools not located in the city.

.* .•JvV'*-



There was one area which might conceivably affect the 
participation in the political process, and that is a disparity

1969, the median income was $7,674 for white families and $4,626 
for black. In 1979, the figures were $15,410 and $9,761, 
respectively. ^

contributions, although Art Kennedy had virtually no trouble 
securing contributions.

The matter of employment listed in the Senate report 
seems subsumed in income.

Again, except as indicated above, there seems no effect 
in ability to participate equally.

Sixth, whether past political campaigns have been 
characterized by overt or subtle racial appeals. No evidence has 
been introduced in this trial which would begin to suggest there 
has been any such tactic in political campaigns in the past. On 
the contrary, there was evidence that the commissioners in the 
mid-70s ran as a "team" and that Commissioner De Graffenreidt was 
a member of the team. In addition, in the 1982 election, Arthur 
Kennedy testified that he and the present mayor, Robert Dressier, 
urged voters to vote for both of them.

group members have been elected to public office in the city. In 
view of the parties' concentration on the six elections since 
197C, the court has largely limited its consideration of 
elections to that period as well. There has been a black

in income among white residents vis-a-vis black residents.

This differential conceivably could affect

The seventh factor is the extent to which minority

28



candidate in every election, and two in 1982. In the elections 
with "open seats"— there have been four "open seats," one in 
1971, two in 1973, and one in 1982— there has been one black 
candidate, Andrew De Graffenreidt, elected, and another who 
narrowly lost, Art Kennedy in 1982. Kennedy lost by 568 votes 
out of 17,151 cast, for a margin of defeat amounting to 3.29%.

This factor was covered in greater detail earlier.
After all, the proof is in the pudding. This court dealt with 
this factor at the beginning because it feels this factor is by 
far the most important of the nine listed by the Senate and Court 
of Appeals. E.g., if the other eight factors show no reason even 
to suspect a violative condition under the Voting Rights Act, but 
minority candidates have had little or no chance of election 
despite numbers to indicate electoral strength, the minority 
group may well be able to show a violation. Conversely, if the 
minority group is having success at the polls— especially if 
the success exceeds its statistical electoral strength— then a 
strong showing in all the other factors could scarcely justify 
relief to that group.

The two additional factors set forth in the Senate 
report may deal more exclusively with the issue of intent but 
will be addressed by this court anyway, despite the amendment of 
the Voting Rights Act. The eighth factor is whether there is a 
significant lack of responsiveness on the part of elected 
officials to the needs of the minority group members. Most of 
the evidence on this factor was introduced by the city. For 
example, the city called the city recruiting officer, who is in

3 9
.  :  ' . . V i *



charge of the minority recruiting program, particularly for 
police and fire department positions. Not only do they use radio 
advertising, but he, along with a police officer, goes to various 
community functions, community colleges around the state and 
country in recruiting efforts.

The city has been operating under a 1980 consent decree 
to achieve 11.25% black fire fighters and police officers. By 
1982, the city had achieved a 12.9% figure of its fire fighters 
who were black. The same goal was set for the police department 
(based on the 1970 census), but in 1982 the city was only at a 6% 
manning level.

The city had validated its police entrance examination 
in 1977 and it was considered valid. A new recruiting officer 
adopted a new test in 1982 to increase the passing rate for 
minorities from 18% to 25%, and currently it is in excess of 50%. 
The explanation for being below 11.25% in police officers results 
largely because 15 minority police officers left. Apparently a 
number of cities are under the stimulus of a consent decree in 
minority hiring and are raiding each other's police departments 
in the sense of offering attractive benefits to minority officers. 
Fort Lauderdale's salary and benefits program became competitive, 
perhaps attractive, in mid-1984.

The city has been engaged in a recruiting program 
attempting to add minorities to the police and fire departments 
for several years prior to the consent decree in 1980, 
particularly in the area of public service aides who then moved 
into the police departments or fire departments.

30



Unfortunately, a reverse discrimination suit was filed 
by white police officers in federal court, and that has resulted 
in an injunction against any further promotional testing for the 
rank of police sergeant, thereby freezing the situation as of a 
previous promotion list.

In 1979, Commissioner De Grafenreidt was reported in 
The Miami Herald to have said that the city has done everything 
possible with respect to minority hiring.

The city also called Assistant City Manager James Hill, 
who happens to be black and has been the assistant city manager 
since 1970. He is the affirmative action officer for the city in 
addition to his other duties.

The city engineer testified that Fort Lauderdale still 
does not have sanitary sewers in all of the areas within the city 
limits. Because of Fort Lauderdale's sandy soils and low 
population in the past, sanitary sewers were not the compelling 
need they may become in the future. A program was developed and 
instituted to install sanitary sewers, generally working from the 
ocean westward. In 1970, a consultant performed a master plan 
for sewers for the city of Fort Lauderdale, and the city 
anticipated having all of the city furnished with sanitary sewers 
by sometime in 1975 or 1976. However, about the time of the 
"master plan," EPA came into existence and ordered the cessation 
of gravity sanitary sewers, changing the entire treatment 
process, treatment plant locations in Fort Lauderdale, and doing 
away with all treatment plants which contributed effluence 
into the waterways. (The court can take notice that more than

31



200 miles of canals and waterways exist in the city of Fort 
Lauderdale.) These sanitary sewer-deficient areas are in both 
the black and white sections of the city, primarily in the 
southwest section (largely white), with some in the northwest, 
but only very small portions in the northeast or southeast 
quadrants of the city.

The city engineer further testified that procedure for 
installing sanitary sewers is that a petition is filed by the 
residents of a neighborhood requesting installation of sewers and 
installation recommendations depend on certain engineering 
factors, such as hydraulic design, etc. The city commission 
receives various technical data from the engineering department 
and then holds public hearings in passing a resolution declaring 
the necessity of installation, and the cost of the assessment is 
made against the individual property owners. A procedure has 
been implemented whereby the payments can be spread over several 
years at simple interest in order to accommodate the low income 
homeowner. However, septic tanks work fairly well in Fort 
Lauderdale's sandy soil; none of the predominantly black areas, 
which are still unsewered, have petitioned for sanitary sewers.

The last unpaved street in Fort Lauderdale was paved 
about six months prior to the hearing and it was in a white 
neighborhood .

The city also called its deputy personnel director who 
outlined the efforts made by the city to recruit minority 
employees into the city's work force. They are spending about 
$100,000 to $150,000 a year in that area alone: up to $20,000 a

32



year for advertising, and the balance on recruiting trips to 
other cities attempting to recruit personnel.

Evidence was also received as to promotion of black 
city employees vis-a-vis white city employees. In 1981, although 
there were more white employees promoted, the percentage of 
eligible whites promoted was 48% while the percentage of eligible 
blacks promoted was 95%. Similar situations continued on into 
both 1982 and 1983, as well as the first part of 1984.

There still is an average income disparity, but this 
matter was naturally not the subject of statistical treatment by 
either side. There were fewer blacks, for example, in the 
engineering department and no breakdown was given as to the 
effect of seniority and tenure on compensation. Consequently, 
the compensation matter seems to have some similarity to the 
Fifth Circuit case of Wilkins v. Univ. of Houston, supra.

Since the year before the consent decree, the city has 
hired 2,000 employees, 22% of them black.

The city also presented evidence as to code compliance 
with the minimum housing codes.

Without the impetus of a consent decree, the city 
commission ordered a part of the northwest section of the city 
(largely black) in October of 1982 to be upgraded and an 
equivalent of one inspector assigned on a full-time basis to 
concentrate on that area.

The director of parks and recreation for the city 
testified that 550 acres of parks exist in Fort Lauderdale, 
ranging from small "vest-pocket parks" to Fort Lauderdale Beach.



There is no line of hotels or motels separating the public from 
Fort Lauderdale's beaches as exists in many other Florida cities. 
There has been no question the city's beach has been integrated, 
at least since 1961. Of the 550 total acres, 190 acres (32% of 
the total) of the parks are situated in the northwest section 
(largely black). However, a portion of that 190 acres was 
acquired several years ago by the city for a park but has not 
yet been developed. The parks in the white neighborhood areas of 
the city are not only integrated, but are freely used by black 
persons. The major parks in the city have full-time recreation 
program staff members.

The city also introduced evidence as to the use of the 
Community Development Grant funds, which have been receivd by the 
city basically since 1974. In this 10-year period, Fort 
Lauderdale has received almost $21,400,000. Of that figure, 90% 
to 95% of the funds have been spent in the northwest sector. The 
unds have been used for matters such as construction of the Dr. 

Von Mizell Center, rehabilitation and modernization of public 
housing, renovation of their low-income housing, rental 
rehabilitation program, etc.

The totality of evidence indicates that the 
responsiveness of the city is hardly perfect, but most of the 
inequities that exist are from difficulties in recruiting 
competition in the police department area. There the city has 
made bona fide and intensive efforts to overcome the problems of 
recruiting or retention. Another area of difficulty is the 
disparity in income of city employees, much of which results from



seniority factor of employees who have been with the city for up 
to 20 or 30 years. The evidence does persuade the court that the 
city has made intensive efforts, certainly in the last 10 to 15 
years, to correct any imbalances and has been ̂ overcompensatT 57
during that period of time in many programs in an effort to 
improve and correct any imbalance.

The ninth factor deals with the tenuousness, if any, of 
the policy underlying the use of any voting qualification 
practice or procedure. There is no questionable voting 
prerequisite or procedure involved in this case. The only 
question has been whether the city's at-large system itself 
violates the Voting Rights Act. The city has had the at-large 
system since its creation in 1911, and this court does not find 
from the totality of evidence indications that its election 
policy either was adopted or has been maintained to discriminate 
against minority citizens.

Summary
This court has gone through the nine factors indicated 

as being relevant by the Senate as well as the Court of Appeals. 
The totality of the evidence does not warrant a finding that Fort 
Lauderdale's at-large system of electing commissioners, with the 
highest vote-getter becoming the mayor, violates the Voting 
Rights Act, as amended.

Fort Lauderdale simply has very little resemblance to 
the many cases which have held a violation of the Voting Rights 
Act. Fort Lauderdale, with a black population of 14.6% in 1970 
which had climbed to 21% by 1980 because of a plateauing of the



white population, has elected a black commissioner three times in 
the six recent elections. The leading cases are decidedly 
different by comparison: Rogers v. Lodge, 458 U.S. 613 (1982),
where the black population of Burke County, Georgia, was 53.6% 
while only 38% of the registered voters comprised black voters 
and no black had ever been elected to the board of county 
commissioners; United States v, Marengo County Commission, 731 
F.2d at 1563 (11th Cir. 1984), had a black population in the 
county of 55.2% and 44% of the registered voters were black, but 
the only black ever elected to county office was a county coroner. 
In N.A.A.C.P. v. Gadsden County (Florida) School Board, 691 F.2d 
at 981 (11th Cir. 1982), the county population was 59% black with 
49.36% registered voters being black, but only one black had ever 
been elected to the school board. In United States v. Dallas

_Commi s s i on, 739 F. 2d 1529 (11th Cir. 1984), the population
of Dallas County, Alabama, was 52.3% black, while 43.8% of the 
registered voters were black, but no blacks in recent history had 
ever been elected to any county office.

The equal opportunity to participate in a political 
process and to elect representatives of their choice is best 
shown at the polls. All parties, lawyers, experts, witnesses, et 
al., agree that an "open seat" affords the best chance for a 
candidate to be elected. There have been four open seats since 
1970 (only one since 1973), and a black candidate won one of

36



them.H/ Considering the minority percentage population in 
1970 of 14.6%, one out of four would be comfortably above a 
proportional representation figure— even if that were not 
specifically proscribed by Congress. If Mr. Kennedy had won in 
1982, this lawsuit would be illogical and would be virtually 
frivolous under these circumstances. As it turns out, he lost by 
a mere 3.2% and attributes his defeat to an election eve letter 
on the letterhead of the county Republican party urging Fort 
Lauderdale citizens to vote for four Republicans and his failure 
to respond to it.

If one examines it another way, the result does not 
vary: Since 1970 (counting the 1979 mayoralty race), there have
been 75 white candidacies for city commission, of which 27 were 
successful in being elected, for a percentage of 36%, while there 
have been seven black candidacies, of which three were 
successful, for a percentage of 43%.

What has emerged from the evidence is that the bulk of—— _____
Fort Lauderdale citizens are conservative, largely Republican. 
Although the city races are officially nonpartisan, the city 
commission has been Republican for approximately two decades.
Not one of the black candidates has been a Republican according 
to the evidence.

What has also emerged from the evidence is that the 
white voters of this city are more than willing to vote for black 
____________________/

H/With two "open seats" in 1973 and only one black 
candidate, it would have been impossible for black candidates to win more than three.



candidates. For example, Commissioner De Graffenreidt would have 
won re-election in 1975 and 1977 on votes from white precincts 
alone. In addition, in 15 non-city races, e.g., for Florida 
Supreme Court Justice, Florida Public Service Commission, and the 
county commission, the white voters of Fort Lauderdale in four 
different races have given a majority vote to a black candidate 
who was competing with a white candidate, and in four other 
elections, black candidates received 40% to 49.9% of the white 
vote.

The evidence fails to show a violation of the Voting 
Rights Act in Fort Lauderdale's at-large system for its city 
commission.

Order to be entered accordingly.
DONE AND ORDERED at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this/ £ *

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