Posted on 06/22/2003 5:51:23 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Local legislators aim to hold ground By SEBASTIAN KITCHEN AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
State Rep. Delwin Jones has participated in redistricting three times in three decades, and he soon will join local legislators in a fight to keep West Texas representation.
A special session called for June 30 by Gov. Rick Perry will address congressional redistricting.
Jones and Rep. Carl Isett, both Lubbock Republicans, waited in Austin last month as Democrats brought the House to a standstill by holing up for four days in an Ardmore, Okla., hotel to fight redistricting.
Redistricting was pushed by state and federal Republicans to increase the number of Republicans in Texas' congressional delegation.
Local legislators worry about diluting West Texas representation in the U.S. House and damaging support of rural and agricultural Texas.
"The primary goal of our West Texas delegation is to preserve all of the voting strength at the congressional level that we can for West Texas," Jones said.
State Sen. Robert Duncan said the impact of any bill on rural Texas needs to be examined because any rural issue affects the entire state.
"For our region, we have to make sure that we don't lose any representation in Congress, that would mean keeping the same number of seats out here that we have now," said Duncan, a Lubbock Republican.
"My primary concern is that we don't lose political influence in Washington for agriculture and West Texas and oil and gas interests," he said.
Duncan said those are all important economic drivers.
West Texas will maintain three congressmen under the plans Jones said he has seen, but there is a geographic shift.
One district, occupied by U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Clarendon, currently is centered near Amarillo.
The 19th District, recently claimed by Randy Neugebauer, includes Midland, Odessa and Lubbock.
Abilene anchors a third district to the east that in 2002 re-elected longtime U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Abilene.
Jones, who has been chairman of previous redistricting efforts, said the shift would move Abilene into the 19th District — pitting Neugebauer against Stenholm, a Democrat who is a ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee.
Midland and Odessa would be moved into a different district, adding more of an oil and gas influence to the local congressional delegation.
"There will still be three votes," Jones said. "The only shift in it is with Midland/Odessa being in a district of its own. There will be more focus on oil and gas orientation than agricultural production."
Stenholm is in a primarily Republican district and is a target as Republicans look to shore up their numbers in Washington.
Jones said that because of Stenholm's position on the agriculture committee and his importance to agriculture, Jones does not want to see him redistricted out of office.
Duncan said he needs to study the possible effect of stretching the district past Abilene to the east.
"I have some concerns when a district runs as many miles east and west," he said. "You have to make sure you are not isolating people. That's a concern you have."
Duncan said he has not prejudged any plan and no redistricting bills ever made it to the Senate during the regular legislative session.
Lubbock will be well-represented during the redistricting process.
Duncan leads the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence, which will work on the issue, and Isett is on the House Redistricting Committee.
Isett said he and Duncan "will work closely together to make sure our influence is not diluted in the congressional delegation."
Isett and Jones both said they believe the redistricting effort will not be as fiercely divided by partisan politics.
Public hearings should help with bipartisanship and will help people who have an interest and want to voice their opinion in the redistricting process, Duncan and Isett agreed.
"The problem with redistricting is it is inherently partisan and inherently divisive," Duncan said. "That is the nature of the beast. The way I intend to handle that is, typically in the Senate, we make sure everyone has appropriate input and that they have an opportunity to be heard and they have adequate access to the plans."
The House will begin conducting hearings before the special session starts.
A Lubbock hearing is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at Texas Tech's International Cultural Center, 601 Indiana Ave. Other hearings are set for San Antonio, Brownsville, Houston, Dallas and Nacogdoches.
"We will have as many hearings as it takes to get input from around Texas as to what needs to be considered in drawing new lines," Isett said. "It is good to remember, it is our obligation to draw these lines.
"They were drawn by courts, and we need to fulfill our constitutional requirement," he said.
Duncan said the Senate also will conduct hearings.
"The main thing you have to do is listen to the concerns of everyone and then pass out a plan that has the consensus. That is what the process is all about," he said.
Duncan said the plan also must meet constitutional and statutory federal requirements.
"The No. 1 goal that you have is to make sure that the members of the committee are advised and have ample resources to evaluate plans both in legal and demographic requirements," he said.
"You have to make sure the process in which we review redistricting proposals is open and fair."
Jones said he does not believe districts should be redrawn to alter their political landscape and influence its political direction.
"People make the final decision," he said. "They support a Republican or Democratic individual. In a large number of areas that have elected a Democrat congressman, they vote Republican on the governorship and U.S. Senate. In local congressmen, they vote Democrat.
"They vote more for the individual," Jones said.
He said redistricting to alter the political landscape should not happen, but computers make it easy to determine heavily partisan areas.
skitchen@lubbockonline.com 766-8753
Sounds like "fuzzy geography" to me! LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.