Nasty fights not just about politics & power but also over dollars
By Enrique Rangel
AUSTIN - Legislators will begin to reshape Texas political landscape later this week. The redrawing of congressional and legislative districts wont happen until 2011 when the Texas Legislature is back in session but the process leading up to the change gets under way Wednesday in Austin. Rep. Delwin Jones R-Lubbock chairman of the House Redistricting Committee will convene the 15-member panel for the first time between legislative sessions to hear from U.S. Census Bureau officials as to what Texas can expect from its population count next year.
The information wont favor West Texas. The state is expected to gain three or four congressional seats but the number of residents in most of West Texas has declined and the region is expected to lose at least one seat in the Legislature.
Many of our rural counties have even lost population and thats going to hurt us when we get the 2010 census count Jones said. I just cant see how we can avoid the loss of at least one seat.
Jones plans a series of public hearings throughout the state including a stop in Lubbock during the interim to get public input as to how redistricting should be handled. Jones and other committee members will work to avoid the bitterness that characterized the 2003 redistricting fight.
Ive talked to a lot of House members and everybody agrees that we should not have a repeat of 2003 said Rep. Aaron Pena D-Edinburg. His Rio Grande Valley area is expected to gain a congressional seat and possibly two Texas House seats
Pena was one of more than 50 House Democrats who fled to Oklahoma in 2003 for several days to deny a quorum to the Republican majority.
About a dozen Senate Democrats did the same a few weeks later fleeing to Albuquerque N.M. But in the end the Democratic legislators lost the battle orchestrated by then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
The Republican majority in the Texas House and Senate passed a bill that allowed the Legislature to draw congressional maps favorable to their party.
State Rep. John Smithee R-Amarillo a veteran of two redistricting fights said before the session ended that the Panhandle likely is to keep its seats but the
South Plains might lose one because some of its rural counties have had the highest population loss.
Regardless of what happens between Wednesday and the start of the next session Texas lawmakers will have a hot potato on their hands said Nathaniel Persily a redistricting expert at Columbia Law School in New York.
Redistricting is a political blood sport and what happened in Texas last time was one of the bloodiest fights weve ever seen Persily said. I dont think well have the same drama (in 2011) but it will still be a bloody fight especially if the Democrats win the House which I dont think its going to happen.
Texas House Republicans are hanging on to a narrow 76-74 majority but Democrats say they are confident of regaining control of the chamber next year.
If the lawmakers dont agree on the redrawn maps the issue likely is to be settled in court Persily said.
Redistricting fights usually are nasty because they are not just about political representation or more power for the majority party but about dollars Pena said.
Money naturally flows to where the congressmans district is or where your state senator or representative lives Pena said. This can mean tens of millions or even hundreds of million dollars for your community.
This also explains why Reed Welch political scientist at West Texas A&M University doesnt see how state lawmakers can avoid a nasty redistricting fight in 2011.
This is about political power and politicians understand political power Welch said. The Legislature went 10 years without a special session and what happened in 2003? (Gov. Rick) Perry called a special session just for redistricting.
Perry looked bad the Democrats looked bad the Republicans looked bad everybody looked bad Welch said. The public didnt like it but that shows you what their priorities are. No one would have walked out for school finance or for other important issues yet they had this big fight over redistricting.
Pena said lawmakers understand the public skepticism but the Legislature is committed to a bipartisan approach. Redistricting Committee members also want to treat areas with losing populations like West Texas as compassionately as possible Pena said.
It is tough to lose a seat Pena said. We havent lost one but we felt like we did after the last census because we thought we should have gained a congressional seat but we didnt.
Everybody wants to maximize whats best for their community he said. Thats just the way it works.
AUSTIN - Legislators will begin to reshape Texas political landscape later this week. The redrawing of congressional and legislative districts wont happen until 2011 when the Texas Legislature is back in session but the process leading up to the change gets under way Wednesday in Austin. Rep. Delwin Jones R-Lubbock chairman of the House Redistricting Committee will convene the 15-member panel for the first time between legislative sessions to hear from U.S. Census Bureau officials as to what Texas can expect from its population count next year.
The information wont favor West Texas. The state is expected to gain three or four congressional seats but the number of residents in most of West Texas has declined and the region is expected to lose at least one seat in the Legislature.
Many of our rural counties have even lost population and thats going to hurt us when we get the 2010 census count Jones said. I just cant see how we can avoid the loss of at least one seat.
Jones plans a series of public hearings throughout the state including a stop in Lubbock during the interim to get public input as to how redistricting should be handled. Jones and other committee members will work to avoid the bitterness that characterized the 2003 redistricting fight.
Ive talked to a lot of House members and everybody agrees that we should not have a repeat of 2003 said Rep. Aaron Pena D-Edinburg. His Rio Grande Valley area is expected to gain a congressional seat and possibly two Texas House seats
Pena was one of more than 50 House Democrats who fled to Oklahoma in 2003 for several days to deny a quorum to the Republican majority.
About a dozen Senate Democrats did the same a few weeks later fleeing to Albuquerque N.M. But in the end the Democratic legislators lost the battle orchestrated by then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
The Republican majority in the Texas House and Senate passed a bill that allowed the Legislature to draw congressional maps favorable to their party.
State Rep. John Smithee R-Amarillo a veteran of two redistricting fights said before the session ended that the Panhandle likely is to keep its seats but the 
Perry looked bad the Democrats looked bad the Republicans looked bad everybody looked bad Welch said. The public didnt like it but that shows you what their priorities are. No one would have walked out for school finance or for other important issues yet they had this big fight over redistricting.
Pena said lawmakers understand the public skepticism but the Legislature is committed to a bipartisan approach. Redistricting Committee members also want to treat areas with losing populations like West Texas as compassionately as possible Pena said.
It is tough to lose a seat Pena said. We havent lost one but we felt like we did after the last census because we thought we should have gained a congressional seat but we didnt.
Everybody wants to maximize whats best for their community he said. Thats just the way it works.
