Redistricting Reality

[sonias]

Texas Tribune 3/24/10
Redistricting Reality

In politics, the crayon is mightier than the ballot. A political mapmaker can do more to change the power structure than a herd of consultants with fat bank accounts behind them. And 2011 will be the Year of the Mapmakers.

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Now, Texas is poised to add up to four seats to its congressional delegation. And early numbers indicate political bad news ahead for West Texas and other areas that haven't kept up with the state's phenomenal growth.

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That would bring the size of the state's congressional delegation to 36, but it wouldn't necessarily mean everybody who's there now gets to stay. The growth hasn't been evenly spread throughout the state. Some areas gained population, some lost population, and some just didn't grow as fast as others.

Draw a line from Wichita Falls on the North to Del Rio on the state's southern border: Most of what's to the left of that line — except for El Paso — is expected to fall well behind the growth of the rest of the state. Not all of that region has lost population; it just hasn't kept up with growth in South Texas and in the major metropolitan areas (especially the suburbs). And that area is likely to suffer political losses when new maps are drawn.

The gained congressional seats might mean West Texas can hang onto the members of Congress it's got now. "They don't have to beat Dallas — they have to beat Ohio, or Philadelphia," Murphy says. But in the state House and Senate — where the number of seats is fixed at 150 and 31, respectively — the region to the west of that Wichita Falls-Del Rio line is likely to lose seats. Just how many, and where, won't be clear for a year, when the numbers come out. But it's already an issue in at least one legislative race. And it's certainly a concern where community leaders meet in towns and cities throughout that part of the state. "That's where West Texas gets hurt," he says.

Very good article. Pay attention to what population is growing and what population should get the extra seats and let's compare what really happens in 2011 when the districts get gerrymandered once again.

[sonias]

1. Redistricting Transparency Act of 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March, 24, 2010
Campaign Legal Center

New Transparency Bill Would Bring Redistricting Out of Back Rooms: Statement of J. Gerald Hebert, Executive Director

The "Redistricting Transparency Act of 2010" (H.R. 4918), introduced by Rep. John Tanner (D-TN) and Rep. Michael Castle (R-DE), will bring the redrawing of congressional districts into the light of day. The secretive process employed in too many states has left citizens in the dark while legislators handpick the voters that will be their constituency. This gerrymandering, with politicians choosing voters instead of voters choosing their elected officials, is a grave disservice to our democracy and feeds the bitter partisanship and dysfunction on Capitol Hill.

With the next round of redistricting soon to begin after the 2010 census, it is no secret that both parties at the state and federal level are already assembling armies of lawyers, experts and massive resources to manipulate the redistricting process for partisan gain. All too often, this partisan gaming of the process comes to light after the voters have been chosen and the district lines drawn. This bill opens up the redistricting process to effective public participation and transparency.

The Tanner-Castle bill deserves broad bipartisan support, public attention, and a hearing – something that has been denied to numerous past efforts to reform the system. This legislation is not written to benefit Democrats or Republicans; it is written to benefit the American people. Members of Congress were sent to Washington to enact laws that protect us and promote the general welfare of our nation. There is no better example of a law that does just that than the "Redistricting Transparency Act of 2010."

To read the bill, click here:
www.campaignlegalcenter.org/attachments/2061.pdf.

Passing this bill before the fight in the states would be nice.