Houston City Council is currently undergoing their redistricting process. District C largely remains the same with the rst redistricting draft plan released in early July.
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The proposed draft plans were drawn by the city demographer Jerry Wood, who sat in the series of town hall meetings held in April and May to allow residents to provide feedback on how they would like the single-mem- ber districts to be redrawn. When creating the maps, Wood must comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and city guidelines. City Attorney Arturo Michel said the redrawn map must maintain a relatively equal pop- ulation between districts, include eas- ily identi able geographic boundaries, not break up county voting precincts, avoid the diminishing of voting power by demographic concentration or dilu- tion, and preserve neighborhoods and incumbent and constituent relations. In July, Wood and Houston City Council held three public hearings for feedback on the draft plan. During this time, the city heard from residents about the changes they would still like to see. ”I want to emphasize [the map] is proposed, it’s not nal,” Michel said. Proposed changes According to discussion in Super Neighborhood meetings, Houstonians were anticipating the most change to occur within districts C and H due to the di erence in population. District C—which covers the Heights, Montrose, Garden Oaks and Meyer- land—is overpopulated by 15%, while District H—an area that spans Wood- land Heights, Northline and Northside Village—is 17% underpopulated, according to the latest data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. During a July 13 public hearing, Wood said District C’s population needed to be reduced by 20,000 people. In an email, District H Council Member Karla Cisneros said her district had 35,000 fewer residents than the average for the rest of the city’s districts. Despite the overpopulation, during the town hall meetings, residents expressed their desire to stay with Dis- trict C due to good relations with Coun- cil Member Abbie Kamin, like-minded neighborhoods and a fear of not being prioritized. Under the draft plan, District C could lose Rice University, Freedmen’s Town and Fourth Ward, and neighborhoods in the far south- west part of the district. In a phone interview, Kamin said she was “surprised and disheartened” to see Freedmen’s Town, a neighborhood intrinsically tied in with the city’s his- tory, drawn out of District C. She said it
District C District H Other districts
CURRENT
PROPOSED
610
610
290
290
H
H
Olivewood Cemetery
C
C
A
A
B
B
The city of Houston began its redistricting process in early 2022, yielding the rst draft of maps in July.
2022
10
10
Freedmen's Town
I
I
G
G
Rice University
45
45
August: The revised plan will be sent to City Council.
59
59
D
D
J
J
288
288
N
N
September: The city declares the population, nds single-member districts imbalanced and passes a redistricting plan ordinance establishing boundaries of single- member districts.
Redistricting lines are being redrawn based on 2020 census data. City demographer Jerry Wood said when drawing boundaries between districts C and H, he was careful to not weaken the Hispanic community in District H, which is larger than District C’s.
2023
January 2023: New maps are put on the council agenda for rati cation.
Hispanic NH* white NH Black/African American NH Asian Other
7% 8% 3%
24%
58%
As of 2019 Proposed
DISTRICT C
July 22-Aug. 21, 2023: Filing period for November 2023 general election
20.3% 58.7%
6.1% 9.8%
4.9%
1%
1%
Nov. 7, 2023: Election Day
71%
13%
14%
As of 2019 Proposed
DISTRICT H
67.4%
15.6% 13.3%
2024
1.7%
Jan 1, 2024: New council district boundaries go into e ect.
*NH=NONHISPANIC
2%
SOURCES: CITY OF HOUSTON, DEMOGRAPHER JERRY WOOD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Jan 2, 2024: The mayor, council members and controller assume their o ces.
is important for Houstonians to under- stand the signi cance of Freedmen’s Town. “There are so many ties to District C, including how historic the area is,” Kamin said. “We have some of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, which comes with its challenges but also serves as a common uniting bond between the neighborhoods.” In an email, Wood said the only reason he heard during the town hall meetings to keep Freedmen’s Town in District C was the presence of historic districts. District H also has several his- toric districts, he said. Representation of Freedmen’s Town Many Freedmen’s Town residents said they were unhappy with the proposed draft plan, especially since during the town halls, those who spoke asked Wood to keep the town in Dis- trict C. Zion Escobar—executive director of Houston Freedmen’s Town Conser- vancy, a nonpro t that works to pre- serve and protect the town—said in a phone interview that Kamin, along with other relations beyond local
government, has helped Freedmen’s Town immensely in the past years. “[Kamin] has been trying everything I know of to help us move forward,” Escobar said. According to Escobar, several proj- ects—such as preservation e orts of historical homes and the red brick streets, sidewalk repairs and the Eman- cipation Trail—that are spearheaded by Kamin, District C and Freedmen’s Town are almost complete. Moving to District H could disrupt that process, she said. Although she said she thinks the neighborhood would be ne with the move, she is worried Freedmen’s Town may not be seen as a priority. Freedmen’s Town resident Gladys House-El said the move to District H came as no surprise. She is a fth-gen- eration resident of the town, and throughout her time there, the neigh- borhood has bounced between District I and C. It has never been an area with stability, she said. If the proposed changes go through, the relationship between Freedmen’s Town and District H will go to square one, House-El said. “We will continue to ght for our
SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
neighborhood,” House-El said. Final steps
A series of changes could be imple- mented once the nal map is brought back to Houston City Council. Esco- bar said she hopes Freedmen’s Town’s feedback will be taken into consid- eration ahead of the nal map being released this month and the process being completed. Kamin, who was moved by the public testimony during the July 13 public hearings, said she too hopes Freedmen’s Town residents’ desires to stay in her district will be heard. The map will be revised before going back to council. The nal map could be voted on in September, rati ed in January and go into e ect Jan. 1, 2024, Michel said.
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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HEIGHTS RIVER OAKS MONTROSE EDITION • AUGUST 2022
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