May
11
Written by:
Mark Lavergne
5/11/2011 2:27 PM
Senate Redistricting Chairman Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) has unveiled his new Texas Senate District Map. The Senate Redistricting Committee will hold a hearing on the map tomorrow at 9.
You can view it here, by clicking on the "Select Plans" menu, then clicking "Base Plan," then selecting "PLANS107."
More on the new map to come in this week's issue of The Lone Star Report.
Seliger issued the following statement today: "When I was appointed to lead the redistricting effort in the Senate, I committed to ensuring that this process would produce a map that is both fair and legal. I firmly believe that the map released today is a reflection of that commitment. I look forward to listening to the public and working with members of the Senate as we move the process forward."
Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth), not surprisingly, saw her district become more Republican. And -- equally unsurprisingly -- she's upset. "The first glimpse of the Senate District 10 map, shown to us just hours before the formal hearing is to take place, reveals a plan to dismantle communities of interest and violates the Voting Rights Act by stranding and disenfranchising African-American and Hispanic voters," said Davis and Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Fort Worth) in a joint statement. "Hispanic neighborhoods of North Fort Worth are separated from their current urban district and joined with voters in rural Denton County and suburban areas of Tarrant County. African-American neighborhoods in Southeast Fort Worth, Forest Hill and Everman are disenfranchised by adding them to a rural district that extends through Johnson, Ellis and Hood counties all the way to Falls County."