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Posted on 07/18/2003 8:05:52 AM PDT by Dog Gone
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ANOTHER TRY AT REDISTRICTING
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| The state Senate Jurisprudence Committee has a new plan to consider as it debates congressional redistricting in a special session. Here are the districts that would include parts of Harris County: 2nd: The newly numbered district spreading east from northeast Harris County would replace the 9th District now represented by U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Beaumont, and likely replace him with a Republican. 7th: The west Houston district would be more compact and more urban but would remain solidly Republican and safe for incumbent U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston 8th: A nine-county district, with heaviest population in Montgomery County, would include portion of northeast Harris County and remain Republican and safe for U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands 9th: The newly numbered district would replace the 25th, a Harris and Fort Bend County district now represented by U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, D-Houston, whose residence no longer would be in the district. He could move in and likely win re-election, but addition of black neighborhoods would make him vulnerable to an African-American challenger in the Democratic primary. 10th: The district, now solidly Democratic and all in Travis County, would stretch from Austin to western Harris County and probably replace Incumbent Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, with a Republican. 14th: The eight-county district would draw most of its population from Brazoria and Galveston counties, would add a small part of northeast Harris County and would be safe for re-election of U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside. 18th: The historically African-American district first represented by Barbara Jordan would retain much of its existing territory, and incumbent Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, probably would be safe for re-election.
22nd: The district of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, the driving force behind the redistricting effort, would draw almost half its population from Harris County, up from about a fourth, remain solidly Republican and likely re-elect DeLay. 29th: The new map would exclude the residence of incumbent Rep. Gene Green, D-Houston, but would include much of his present constituency. Green, an Anglo who has represented the heavily Hispanic district for a decade, would have a good shot at holding the seat if he moved into the district. Sources: Texas Legislative Council, Chronicle analysis |
AUSTIN -- Senate Republicans Thursday unveiled a new congressional redistricting proposal that could cost Texas Democrats up to seven seats in Congress in next year's elections.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Texans want the state's congressional district boundaries redrawn -- despite statistics released by a state Senate committee showing 89 percent of the 2,620 people who testified in public hearings around Texas opposed any redistricting.
"The majority of the voters here in the state of Texas support President Bush and his policies. The majority of the congressional delegation does not. That's not fair," Dewhurst said.
Democrats hold a 17-15 majority in the state's congressional delegation. But if the map unveiled Thursday were to become law, Republicans could hold a 22-10 majority.
A map passed by the state House earlier in this special session could result in the GOP holding 21 of Texas' congressional seats.
The Senate map would create new Republican districts in areas now held by Democrats, and would bolster GOP strength in a district now held by U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio.
"The Hispanic surname registration is reduced from 55 percent to less than 44 percent by taking Webb County voters out and replacing them with German Anglo Hill Country voters from Boerne, Kerrville and Bandera," said Democratic consultant Ed Martin.
The proposed map probably would result in defeat for Democratic U.S. Reps. Martin Frost of Dallas, Max Sandlin of Marshall, Jim Turner of Crockett, Nick Lampson of Beaumont and Chet Edwards of Waco. U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Abilene, would have a marginal chance of winning re-election.
The 4th District in northeast Texas appears to have been drawn to help conservative U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, D-Rockwall, win re-election. The district would remain rural, and would drop from about 68 percent to 60 percent Republican, based on recent voting history.
But the addition of Democratic counties in the Texarkana area to Hall's district would increase the chance that he might be defeated in the primary by a moderate or liberal Democrat who then could not win the general election. Hall has alienated hard-core Democrats by casting votes with Republicans in Congress.
The Democrats' biggest complaint with the map was how Republicans redrew Frost's 24th District to eliminate him. Frost is the leader of the delegation Democrats.
To ensure his defeat, the Republican map reduces the African-American and Hispanic voting-age population in the district from 54 percent to 29 percent. Frost's district then becomes strongly Republican, and its minority population, which historically votes Democratic, is drawn into other Republican districts.
Texas Legislative Council lawyer Jeff Archer told the Senate Jurisprudence Committee that the minority vote in Frost's district will lose clout.
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READ THEIR LIPS: NO NEW MAPS
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| Witnesses at state Senate committee hearings overwhelmingly opposed congressional redistricting.
Source: Senate Jurisprudence Committee |
Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, told Archer, "As it relates to this part of the state, a minority influence district has been wiped out."
"That's a reasonable statement," Archer replied, but he cautioned that Frost's existing district might not be considered a minority-influence district under the Voting Rights Act. Such a district contains enough minority voters that they can affect election outcomes even if a nonminority is elected.
Dewhurst said the new map creates two new minority districts, an African-American district in Houston and a Hispanic district in South Texas.
The black district is in what is now the 25th District held by U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, D-Houston. The district would be renumbered as the 9th, black voting age population would be increased from 22 percent to 36 percent and Bell's residence would be outside the district.
But Bell now represents 47 percent of the population that would be in the new district. He likely could move back into the district and win re-election, though he might be vulnerable to a Democratic primary challenge from a black politician.
The 25th District would become a new Hispanic district in South Texas. By jamming the new district in there, the map redraws South Texas so three Hispanic districts stretch about 200 miles from the Rio Grande Valley to the Austin area.
Martin argued that there really would be no additional Hispanic district because Bonilla's district would become majority Anglo.
Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, predicted that the map would win Jurisprudence Committee approval on a partisan 4-3 vote. But he said he believes Republican members are nervous about it.
"This map definitely has them squirming. They're scared of possible repercussions at the Department of Justice," Gallegos said. The Justice Department must review new districts for compliance with the Voting Rights Act, which attempts to prevent dilution of minority voting strength.
Any redistricting almost certainly will be challenged in court.
During late June and early July, the committee held seven public hearings around the state. Most testimony was against changing the current congressional district boundaries.
Dewhurst dismissed the testimony as party-driven.
"Obviously, a lot of time when you're having public testimony different political parties try to get their activists turned out," Dewhurst said.
Democratic Party Chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm blasted Dewhurst for the remark.
"Mr. Dewhurst, you have insulted the hundreds of Texans who took the time and trouble to testify, and you owe them an immediate -- and genuine -- apology," Malcolm said.
Republican Party spokesman Ted Royer said that the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce hired 40 people to help pack a state House hearing on redistricting and demonstrate opposition to any changes.
Under the Senate rules, legislation must be debated in the order it passes a committee. An insignificant bill is parked at the top of the calendar so that it takes two-thirds of the Senate to debate legislation out of order.
At a news conference Thursday, Dewhurst said he would honor that tradition during this special session, effectively allowing the dozen senators to stop redistricting from reaching the Senate floor. But Dewhurst warned that if Gov. Rick Perry called the Legislature back into a second special session, then redistricting would be the first bill out of committee and brought to the Senate floor with a majority vote of only 16 senators — not the 21 usually required. Republicans dominate the Senate 19 to 12.
Yet the American public overwhelmingly supported the invasion.
The slant by the Houston Chronicle today is that Texans overwhelmingly object to redistricting. That's a lie, and they know it's a lie. But the Chronicle feels that its mission in life is to tell the public what to think.
That's the whole point. There are none, or very few, hard-core Democrats in Ralph Hall's district. Thus his conservative voting record enables him to keep his seat.
The Houston Chronicle can barely contain their hatred.
Exactly! The Houston Comical isn't fit for fish wrap.
...would be the first bill out of committee and brought to the Senate floor with a majority vote of only 16 senators — not the 21 usually required.
Please help me understand this. If it take two-thirds then how does it become a majority? Am I missing something?
Nope, but I use it to set the cat litter box on. It works pretty well.
But 22 seats in Congress? That's 68%, which is way above what Republicans typically get in this state.
The other 11% were holding out for higher pay and a limo ride home.
If Governor Perry calls another session next month, Dewhurst has the power to make sure that only the redistricting bill is on the calendar, which means that the 2/3rds rule is moot. The bill would then either pass or fail by a simple majority vote.
Dang. He noticed.
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