Last Friday, the Redistricting trial in San Antonio concluded. The court indicated that they shall await a ruling from the DC court before issuing their own ruling. We have filed a motion to intervene in the DC case and expect to receive an answer soon. The DC court will have a hearing November 1st to rule on motions for summary judgment and trial, if needed, will follow soon thereafter.
It is expected that a decision from the San Antonio federal court will likely come down something in late October/early November.
Throughout the trial and continuing til now, your Texas Democratic Party has been working hard to make the case that these maps are discriminatory and need to be redrawn. Below you will find a snapshot of some of the press we’ve received thus far. Also below you will find some very informative stories that will answer all your questions as to next steps in this process.
In the coming weeks we will continue to fight these gerrymandered maps both in actual courtrooms as well as in the court of public opinion.
We thank you again for following this important issue and rest assured we will continue to provide updates as developments occur.
Texas Democratic Party in the news:
Democrats Accuse Pena of Lying About Redistricting – Austin American Statesman
But Boyd Richie, Chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, sees it differently and had some scathing words about the former Democrat, who sat on the House’s redistricting committee during the 2011 session.
“Principles have never been Aaron Peña’s strong suit but this is a disgusting new low,” Richie said in a statement. “He used his position on the redistricting committee to gerrymander his own district then lied about it on the floor of the Texas House of Representatives.”
What DOJ Tossing Texas’ Redistricting Plan Means For Rick Perry – Talking Points Memo
Democrats were quick to take their victory lap over the Justice Department’s decision.
“It’s a shame that Governor Perry and his Republican colleagues are more interested in protecting their own political futures than the voting rights of their constituents,” said Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman Rebecca Acuna.
“The Perry-signed state house and congressional maps attempted to diminish the political voice of the communities responsible for the state’s population growth. The maps are a desperate attempt by Republicans to latch on to power by any means necessary,” Acuna said.
Texas redistricting trial wraps up without ruling – Associated Press / ABC Houston
“Academics, voting rights experts, legislators, members of congress and community leaders were united in calling these maps discriminatory in effect and intent,” said Anthony Gutierrez, spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party. “Republicans used virtually every available gerrymandering technique so that they could predetermine the outcomes of elections.”
Latino Republican Dilutes Latino Vote Then Lies About It – News Taco Guest Column
So, electorally, Peña is a non-factor. But, at the moment, he’s still in office and is the leader of the Hispanic Republican Conference as well as a member of the Redistricting Committee.
And that’s what makes this a huge deal — the guy Republicans put in charge of Hispanic outreach was so scared of facing Hispanics after this legislative session that he cut 30,000 of them out of his own district. And then he lied about it on the floor of the House of Representatives. Now, Peña can quibble about whether he lied and he can bloviate about the meaning of “draw” but the fact that he cut 30,000 Hispanics out of his district is indisputable. It’s simple math based on publicly available information.
Democratic Party: Rep. Aaron Peña lied about redistricting – The Monitor
Democratic Party officials accused Peña of using his seat on the redistricting committee — he was the only Valley legislator assigned to it — to gerrymander his own district for personal gain.
“We have a Republican member of the redistricting committee caught lying about his role in the drawing of a district so blatantly discriminatory that it could be used in textbooks to illustrate gerrymandering,” Gutierrez said. “Simply put, Peña would not have lied if he had not done something wrong.”
Texas Republican accused of gerrymandering his district – Raw Story
Pena had repeatedly denied accusations that he was directly involved in the drafting of the redistricting map. His new district covers less than 2 percent of his old district.
But during the redistricting trial a House Redistricting Committee Counsel, Ryan Downton, testified that he worked with Pena on the district lines. Downton said Pena would identify specific neighborhoods that he believed were favorable to him so that he would include those in Pena’s district.
Anthony Gutierrez: Texas Democrats stand firm against GOP shenanigans – El Paso Times Guest Column
We saw the priorities of Republicans like Dee Margo and Rick Perry in the last legislative session — $4 billion slashed from public education, tens of thousands of teachers laid off, billions cut from basic state services.
If these gerrymandered Republican maps are allowed to stand, you and your family will get 10 more years of those misplaced priorities.
While many El Pasoans will be struggling, corporations and special interests will sit on their fat pocketbooks and continue to enjoy tax loopholes worth billions.
After decimating public education to keep corporate tax loopholes in place, it makes sense that Republicans would prefer to rig elections by drawing unfair maps rather than face voters and explain their records. But Texas Democrats have no intention of letting them get away with it.
El Paso deserves better.
GOP map dilutes Harris County representation Houston Chronicle Op-Ed from TDP Vice-Chair Lenora Sorola Pohlman
The Republican-dominated Legislature reduced the representation of Harris County in the Texas House from 25 seats to 24 seats. It paired Democratic state Reps. Scott Hochberg and Hubert Vo in order to eliminate a district where minorities make up an overwhelming majority of the electorate and have consistently voted together to elect their candidate of choice. Furthermore, the illegally gerrymandered House plan gives Anglo voters control of 14 of 24 House districts, meaning that 33 percent of the county’s population effectively controls 58 percent of the county. In other areas, the Republican House map leaves a significant portion of the Hispanic population stranded in a district where it has little influence.
Republicans attempt to quash voting rights Monitor Op-Ed from SDEC Member Eli Olivarez
Our community is all too familiar with the devastating consequences when Republicans are allowed to get away with shameless power-grabs like this one. We’ve seen public education cut to the bone, tens of thousands of teachers headed to the unemployment line, and pre-K and higher education put further out of reach for our students. Our community disproportionately suffers from these Republican policies, and if these gerrymandered maps are allowed to stand, we’ll be facing another decade of these devastating policies. We cannot let Republicans rig elections so that they don’t have to run on their record of failure.
Did Pena Lie About Drawing His Own House District? -Texas Observer
The same day Gutierrez released his report, the Department of Justice filed legal briefs announcing that the Texas House and congressional redistricting maps violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because they don’t protect the electoral power of the state’s minority populations. This means the case go to federal court in Washington D.C.
Latino republican lied about redistricting involvement – News Taco
That Peña was supposedly lying about his involvement in redistricting — which was wrong in a whole slew of ways, including edging out Latino and African-American voters (which we’ll be updating you on this week) — is important because it means there is a lot more going on than he or others have let on (which, again, is something we’ll talk about in our post-redistricting lawsuit coverage).
Dems take Rick Perry, Texas GOP to court over redistricting – CBS News Political Hotsheet
The redistricting process typically depends quite a bit on politics at the local level, but Texas Democratic Party Deputy Executive Director Anthony Gutierrez said in a statement that the trial “is about a lot more than Republicans and Democrats fighting over district lines.”
“Republicans are trying to illegally use redistricting to predetermine who makes policy for the next decade,” Gutierrez said.
Perry Accused of Warping Election Map as Texas Trial Begins – San Francisco Chronicle
Texas Democratic Party Deputy Executive Director Anthony Gutierrez said in a statement today that the trial “is about a lot more than Republicans and Democrats fighting over district lines.”
“Republicans are trying to illegally use redistricting to predetermine who makes policy for the next decade,” Gutierrez said.
Los nuevos distritos electorales abren oportunidades para los latinos en 2012 – Por Agencia EFE
El subdirector ejecutivo del Partido Demócrata de Texas, Anthony Gutiérrez, dijo hoy en un comunicado que el juicio “se trata de mucho más que los republicanos y los demócratas luchando sobre las líneas de los distritos electorales”.
“Los republicanos están intentando utilizar ilegalmente el proceso de la redistribución de los distritos electorales legislativos para atacar a nuestra comunidad y para predeterminar quien creará la política durante la próxima década…los mapas republicanos severamente disminuyen la fuerza del voto Latino”, argumentó.
Other Redistricting Stories of Interest:
Redistricting Journal: Showdown in Texas – reasons and implications for the House, and Hispanic vote – CBS News Political Hotsheet
New Texas voting map faces federal challenge – Wall Street Journal
Texas redistricting trial shows anti-latino policies – News Taco
