2 more maps vie for majority(TX redistricting-preparing for another special session)

The usual liars at the Houston Chronicle ^ | 7/22/03 | R.G. RATCLIFFE

[Diddle E. Squat]

AUSTIN -- A Senate committee saw two new congressional redistricting maps Monday as Republicans struggled to find a plan that can win a majority vote in the 31-member Senate.

With little hope of gathering any Democratic support to pass a plan in the current special legislative session, the Republicans are trying to agree among themselves on a plan that could pass the Senate quickly if Gov. Rick Perry calls a second special session.

"This is dead this legislative session. It's dead, it's dead, it's dead, it's dead," Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said of redistricting in the current special session. "The game now is to get 16 votes."

Because of procedures in effect this session, bringing any redistricting bill up for Senate floor debate would require a two-thirds vote -- 21 votes when all senators are present.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has vowed to change that arrangement in a second special session so a simple majority of 16 votes could approve a redistricting bill. The Republicans hold 19 Senate seats and the Democrats hold 12.

Republicans are pushing redistricting that would increase GOP seats in the state's congressional delegation, where Democrats now hold a 17-15 majority. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, and others argue that the existing delegation does not reflect the state's recent Republican voting history.

But the Republican senators are finding it difficult to draw a map that gains the GOP seats in Congress next year while addressing local political concerns within the senators' districts. As many as six of the Republican senators have at times expressed opposition to particular redistricting measures.

Sen. Bill Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, is opposed to redistricting and has aligned himself with the Democrats. The other Republicans favor redistricting statewide, but have problems locally.

Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, the original Senate sponsor of redistricting, gave up his efforts last week. Harris has opposed measures that cut his hometown into more than two congressional districts.

Sen. Todd Staples, R-Palestine, took over the map drawing from Harris. He has problems with supporters in his district over various maps designed to knock off U.S. Reps. Max Sandlin, D-Marshall, and Jim Turner, D-Crockett.

Staples said developing maps agreeable to a Senate majority is difficult.

"Any time you change one area, it seems to have a rippling effect on other areas," Staples said.

"What I'm trying to do at this point is incorporate the various concerns that I've heard and get a greater level of consensus among the members."

Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, has faced local opposition from Republicans and Democrats who want his home county of McLennan kept in one district with Bell and Coryell counties.

Local officials also oppose plans that eliminate U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, because he is the ranking Democrat on a House committee key to military base funding. Edwards has been an advocate for Fort Hood.

Edwards, whose district also includes the Crawford ranch of President Bush, is a target of the Republican push for congressional redistricting. Almost every effort to redraw his district either splits McLennan County or separates it from Bell and Coryell counties.

Constituents of Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, also want him to protect Edwards.

Fraser and Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, face similar pressure to protect U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Abilene, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. If he loses his seat, the post goes to a representative from Minnesota.

Fraser and Duncan have another problem in West Texas.

Abilene and Lubbock are in two congressional districts now, but Texas Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, won House approval of a plan that gives Midland its own congressional district. That means Abilene would be dominated by Lubbock in a new district.

About 30 West Texas mayors recently met with Fraser, Duncan and Dewhurst to oppose redrawing West Texas. The latest Senate maps reflect the wishes of Duncan and Fraser, not Craddick.

"I've learned in the legislative process there are no guarantees," Duncan said, "but, hopefully, Senator Fraser and I can work with Speaker Craddick and resolve those differences and reflect the needs and wills of our constituents."

Duncan, chairman of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee, said he hopes the committee can vote on a bill by Wednesday.

That would set up a Senate floor vote as early as Friday.

If the Democrats and Ratliff kill the bill under the two-thirds rule, the Senate is expected to adjourn for the session once business is complete on other bills. Craddick announced Monday that the House will work through this weekend.

Various sources said Perry may call the second session immediately after the first one adjourns, or he may wait as late as Aug. 1.

"If we put our heads together, we can get this addressed during this extraordinary session," Perry said.

"If not, then obviously it is an option to immediately call another session to address this issue. This is an important issue to the leadership and I think to the people of the state."

Besides Sandlin, Turner, Edwards and Stenholm, Democratic U.S. Reps. Martin Frost of Dallas and Nick Lampson of Beaumont are targets of most Republican-drawn redistricting maps. Those unveiled by Staples on Monday were no exception.

The new maps also returned Republican attention to U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, by eliminating his district.

All of Staples' maps have included 200-mile long north-south districts running from the Austin area to Mexico.

Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, told Staples "a lot of these look like snakes."

[pogo101]

Sen. Bill Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant, is opposed to redistricting and has aligned himself with the Democrats.

Planning a career change, Mr. Ratliff? If not, start.

[jagrmeister]

Ratliff should prepare himself for being egged everywhere he goes.

[MeekOneGOP]

New redistricting maps faulted

Minorities would be 'politically insignificant,' Democratic senators say

07/22/2003

By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – Democratic senators said Monday that new GOP congressional maps would concentrate minorities into political ghettos in some areas while diluting their influence elsewhere into Republican-leaning districts.

"People had better wake up and understand what this redistricting is all about," said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who is black.

"We will be politically insignificant as it relates to congressional and national policy," he said. "That's a disenfranchisement."

But Sen. Todd Staples, R-Palestine, said his two new maps are fair, despite the way they and one he filed last Thursday would break up a 60 percent minority district in Dallas-Fort Worth now represented by U.S. Rep. Martin Frost, D-Arlington.

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"I feel like those are legally defensible maps," Mr. Staples said.

Lawmakers said they expect the current special session to end with no action on congressional district boundaries.

Gov. Rick Perry, who compelled lawmakers to deal with the issue by calling the session, said he wouldn't hesitate to do it again if the Senate fails to approve a redistricting plan.

A second special session could come on the immediate heels of the current 30-day session, which ends July 29.

"I would expect that it [another special session] would be relatively soon. We've got work to do," Mr. Perry said.

In a second special session, the Senate's GOP majority probably would pass a new congressional map. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said redistricting would be the only item on the Senate's agenda. Unlike the current session, no two-thirds vote to suspend rules would be required, he said.

Mr. West, who sits on the Senate committee that is likely to approve a map on Wednesday, predicted it would not be brought up on the Senate floor and would die. But in a second special session, he said, all bets are off.

"The game now is to get 16 votes," he said.

Republicans hold a 19-12 edge in the chamber, and Mr. Dewhurst said, "We have 18 Republicans that would like to see a fair redistricting plan."

Mr. Staples, who heads the Senate GOP Caucus, said he will make further changes to his maps but would not identify which of the three is likely to go forward.

Mr. Frost, who would be thrust by the two latest maps into a 62-percent Republican district designed for state Rep. Ken Marchant, R-Coppell, predicted that the courts would void the plans because they dilute minority voting strength.

The 356,000 blacks and Hispanics whom Mr. Frost represents would be split – among three suburban-dominated, GOP-leaning districts and the already predominantly minority district of U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas.

Republicans want to "pack minorities into as few districts as they can and then bury the remaining minorities in heavily Republican districts," Mr. Frost said.

Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said Mr. Staples' new maps would keep three districts in the Houston area that a black or Hispanic Democrat could win. But he complained the maps would boost the percentage of minorities in two of them, thus squandering a chance to create a fourth district with minority influence.

Mr. Staples declined to comment on criticism of his proposals by black and Hispanic colleagues.

His maps would increase by one – to four – the number of Hispanic congressional districts in South Texas, although Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, warned that Central Texas could dominate some of them.

Mr. Perry said he was not worried about the cost of special sessions – an estimated $1.7 million apiece – or about a threat by some Democratic senators of breaking a quorum by refusing to come to the Capitol.

"If people don't want to be here to do their constitutional duty, that's their business," Mr. Perry said.

He said the cost of the special sessions is easily offset by other legislation considered this month. He cited $800 million in money derived from authorizing money transfers among different state funds. Lawmakers also created a $30 fee to be added to traffic tickets.

Both bills were designed to fix glitches in legislation passed during the regular session.

"I think those that would criticize, 'Oh my gosh, they're spending $1.7 million,' stacked up next to what we've been able to do this session, that's a moot issue," Mr. Perry said. "You can call a lot of $1.7 million sessions before you use up $800 million."

Staff writer Christy Hoppe in Austin contributed to this report.

E-mail rtgarrett@dallasnews.com

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