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How linked are policymaking, representation, HIV/AIDS and race? Race and representation has been a problem in many American cities for minorities who feel their voices are not listened to. Turnout also harms minorities? representation because of their low numbers and, frequently, lack of mobilization. But when a community is divided on an issue that is racially skewed, how do the policymakers define the community when everybody claims to represent it? In November 1998 the city of Springfield, MA voted against the implementation of a Needle Exchange Program to serve injection drug users and reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in the city. The referendum, that was non-binding because not enough signatures were certified on time, was proposed by the Citizens Against Needle Exchange (CANE). This group, composed mostly by suburban whites, was organized after the City Council approved needle exchange in a closed 5-4 vote. They successfully stopped the needle exchange program with the referendum results (55% against, 45% in favor) after threatening to recall the Mayor if he disregarded the results. The HIV/AIDS problem in Springfield affects minorities disproportionately with 82% of the cases in a city where minorities are 49% of the population . This presentation intends to analyze the impact of representation, turnout, and mobilization in Springfield in 1998. The city council is composed of nine at-large members in a community where 65% percent of the voting age population but 77% of the voters are white. This could be an explanation on why there are only two minority councilmen (one at the time of the referendum). Turnout and registration tends to be lower in minority-majority wards, thus affecting the outcome in favor of white-majority wards where turnout and registration is much higher. To address the problem of representation in the city council the Campaign for Fair Politics, a coalition of mostly minority community-based organizations, proposed a referendum to restructure the representation system of the city from at-large to single-member by ward. While CANE?s needle exchange referendum was approved (non-binding), a similar situation occurred with CFP (not enough certified signatures), but the City Council denied the approval of even a non-binding referendum. These actions by the City Council led to a suspicion of a racially biased policymaking. The analysis will consist of quantitative methods including turnout and registration data for Springfield wards for the 1998 election combined with demographic and geographical (GIS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau to analyze and illustrate the extent of the racial divisions and socioeconomic differences in the city. Also, the use of public health data (MassDPH and CDC) about HIV/AIDS prevalence in Springfield and the groups affected and their locations, and survey research (conducted by Market Street Research of Northampton, MA) about citizens? attitudes toward needle exchange. Ethnographic data and interviews from community leaders and persons involved in the process conducted by Dr. Susan Shaw will help create a clearer picture of what the community elite thinks about an issue in which everybody represents the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]