Senators urge Perry to back off
No more special sessions, Albuquerque exiles tell governor
10:09 PM CDT on Monday, August 25, 2003
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – As the second special legislative session for congressional redistricting neared its end Tuesday, the 11 Democratic senators self-exiled in Albuquerque urged Gov. Rick Perry not to call lawmakers back for more.
"Stand down from this pointless redistricting," said Leticia Van de Putte, chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. "Stop wasting tax dollars in your attempt to steal, through partisan redistricting, what you could not accomplish in legitimate elections."
Mr. Perry has not said when he would call another special session.
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"The governor will announce when the next session will be at the appropriate time," spokeswoman Kathy Walt said.
The Democrats expect to press their case to stop redistricting Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Laredo, where they've filed suit.
The sides are at odds on Republican attempts to increase their numbers within the state's congressional delegation. Democrats enjoy a 17-15 edge, although Republicans control both houses of the Legislature and the governor's mansion.
The latest posturing came as a new Texas Poll suggests that the public is divided over redistricting.
According to the poll, 46 percent of respondents didn't think that congressional maps should be redrawn, while 40 percent felt redistricting was a good idea.
The poll found that Texans overwhelmingly disagreed with the Democrats' decision bolt to New Mexico. Sixty-two percent disagreed with the action, while 29 percent agreed.
About 46 percent of respondents faulted Mr. Perry's decision to call a second special session, compared with 44 percent who supported it.
The poll, conducted by the Scripps Data Center, surveyed 1,000 Texans on Aug. 7-21. The margin of error was 3 percentage points, meaning the results may vary by that much either direction.
Although Democrats have talked tough about staying in Albuquerque "as long as it takes" to kill redistricting, the Senate Democratic Caucus has not decided whether to return for a third special session or continue the boycott.
Republicans have urged their colleagues, some of whom are ill, to come home and make their last stand on the Senate floor. Sen. Frank Madla of San Antonio was taken Monday to the hospital, where doctors said he was suffering from pneumonia. Mr. Madla, who also has a heart condition, returned to the Democrats' hotel later in the day.
"Since Day One, they have attempted to plant seeds of doubt in Texans' minds on whether we would hold together, how long we'd stay and when we'd return," Ms. Van de Putte said. "And since Day One, we have told you we would do whatever it took to defend Texans, especially minority and rural voters."
Dallas Democrat Royce West said the battle was far from over.
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"We're probably at the beginning of the second quarter," he said. "This is long from being over with."
A primary obstacle to a return to Austin is Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's decision to remove the Senate's traditional two-thirds rule for consideration of bills. Democrats have used the rule – requiring that 21 of 31 senators favor bringing up a bill before it can be considered – to avoid a vote on redistricting.
Removal of the two-thirds rule is the centerpiece of this week's court skirmishes.
In an example of the legal quicksand surrounding the standoff, lawyers argued for two hours Monday in state district court in Austin over the dismissal of a lawsuit that both sides agreed should be dismissed.
District Judge Darlene Byrne finally ended what she called the "ping pong" match and handed down the dismissal sought by both parties, leading both sides to declare they'd won a significant victory.
Democrats had sought to bar authorities from forcibly returning them to the Capitol and challenged Mr. Perry's authority to call a special session for redistricting. Republicans had countersued, asking for a court order to compel the senators' return. Ultimately, both sides agreed that the state judge should dismiss the case while each side pursues the matter on other fronts.
With that decision, attention will shift to Laredo. The Democratic senators hope that they can persuade a judge to empower a three-judge panel to determine whether the removal of the two-thirds rule violates the voting rights of minorities.
Also Monday, Democrats expressed concern that the U.S. Justice Department had pre-approved Mr. Dewhurst's plan to again remove the two-thirds rule if a third special session was called.
"I don't want to believe that," Mr. West said. "But if it is indeed true, we've sent a letter requesting that before they make a decision to give us an opportunity to have input into the process."
Justice Department officials did not return telephone calls Monday.
Mr. Dewhurst has suggested a cooling-off period, which could give the senators time to go home.
"We would return for a defined cooling-off period with assurances that there would be no dirty tricks," Mr. West said.
Mr. Perry called the second special session for redistricting immediately after the first ended in late July. Many felt it was a ploy to catch and lock the Democrats inside the Senate chambers.
Staff writers Pete Slover and Wayne Slater in Austin contributed to this report.
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