Southwest Austin - Dripping Springs Edition - November 2021

GOVERNMENT Newelectoral maps outline next decade of city, state politics

MAKING THE MAPS This fall’s local and state redistricting processes set new district lines for city and federal representation.

Austin’s new district boundaries are based around those in place since 2013.

AustinCityCouncil

BY BEN THOMPSON

mapping plan was also shaped with some recommendations from the local NAACP/Hispanic Coalition that resulted in multiple minority opportunity districts—areas where residents of a certain demographic block have the chance to elect a candidate of their choice. Puentes said that while the ICRC strived to ensure those districts remained in place, it was tough because minority populations are increasingly leaving the city. This was the first year in decades that Texas was not bound by preclearance—a 1965 Voting Rights Act provision requiring federal approval of maps from states with a history of disenfranchising minority voters. Although the Supreme Court eliminated preclearance requirements in 2013, the approved Texas maps have already been challenged in court for discrimination. The lawsuit, filed by a group called Voto Latino as well as several others claims that 95% of the population grown in Texas, as measured by the 2010 and 2020 censuses, stems from growth in minority populations, yet it says the new maps increase the number of majority white districts. State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, who led the redistricting process in the Senate, addressed similar concerns during a Sept. 24 redistricting committee session. “ ... We drew these maps race- blind. We have not looked at any racial data as we drew these maps, and to this date I have not looked at any racial data. … I have not drawn these maps on a racial basis,” Huffman said. According to census data, the proportion of white Texans fell from 72.43% to 54.99% over the last decade. “Much of Texas, if drawn correctly and geographically, would provide an increase in minority representation,”

District 1 District 6

District 2 District 7

District 3 District 8

District 4 District 9

District 5 District 10

Dual redistricting processes at the local and state levels wrapped up this fall, cementing how Austinites will be represented for the coming For the city, a panel of residents redesigned 10 Council districts. At the Texas Capitol, the majority- Republican Legislature designed its own maps for dozens of state House, Senate, Board of Education and U.S. decade at City Hall, the state Legislature and in Congress. Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, or ICRC, moved toward an October conclusion, members pointed to importance of public feedback and impartiality. “We’re not a body of elected officials. We’re just citizens. I think that makes a huge difference that we don’t have skin in the game,” ICRC Chair Christina Puentes said. Puentes said the board prioritized transparency. The group often held public in-person and virtual meetings at night or on weekends. “Without the citizen participation, I think that’s kind of like the magic congressional districts. As the work of Austin’s sauce in a way,” Puentes said. At the state level, redistricting hearings were held during regular business hours. Both Puentes and David Thomason, an associate professor of political science at St. Edward’s University, said this meant residents had less opportunity to provide feedback at the state level and did not see their feedback incorporated at the level it was in the city. Thomason said that aspect is one of several key differences he sees between the Legislature and the ICRC’s approach. “Most of the states that are similar in their population size try to create more transparency, more accountability and more accessibility to redistricting,” Thomason said. “Texas at the state level has not historically done that.” Minority representation The Austin commission’s final

OLDMAP

APPROVEDMAP

45 TOLL

183

130 TOLL

620

290

MOPAC

130 TOLL

290

183

MAP NOT TO SCALE N

Redistricting will alter how Travis County is represented in Congress, including the creation of a new District 37.

Congressional

District 10 District 25

District 17 District 35

District 21 District 37

OLDMAP

APPROVEDMAP

620

290

MOPAC

130 TOLL

290

183

MAP NOT TO SCALE N

SOURCES: CITY OF AUSTIN, TEXAS LEGISLATURE/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER NOTE: AREAS IN GRAY REPRESENT DISTRICTS THAT DO NOT INCLUDE ANY PART OF TRAVIS COUNTY

lines resemble the current plan. State maps have already shuffled Central Texas politics with several lawmakers announcing plans to run ahead of the Dec. 13 filing deadline. In Austin, District 4 Council Member Greg Casar announced a run for Congressional District 35 based on the new map. Longtime District 35 Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, announced his run for the newly created District 37 just west of his current constituency. Under the new maps, District 35 is broadened in eastern Travis County and still stretches through Hays and Comal counties to the San Antonio area. The new District 37 now covers the city’s central portion. Farther north, state Rep. James

Talarico, D-Round Rock, is running for the compacted House District 50 currently represented by state Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, a plan that would require him to move away from his current District 52. Israel is exploring a run for Austin mayor. Former state Sen. Pete Flores announced a follow-up attempt to rejoin the Senate with a run for Northwest Austin’s Senate District 24 after a 2018 election loss. District 24 now covers less of Travis County as District 25 has been extended to the north and west to absorb more of the area. Former Austin City Council Member Ellen Troxclair is running for state House District 19 to the west after previously eyeing the District 24 seat.

Thomason said. District shakeups

Locally, Austin’s new maps do not appear likely to significantly change council’s political or demographic makeup given that the boundary

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