Democratic leaders in Harris and Fort Bend Counties pass redistricting maps that will shift balance of power to Democrat-leaning voters for at least a decade starting in 2024
There is a common saying that goes “It ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun,” which practically means that at some point the tables turned on the people who had the upper hand on a situation at one point in time, and then a pivot happens which now benefits those who had the short end of the stick.
That is what has happened recently in both Harris and Fort Bend Counties relative to the polarizing process of redistricting.
The Houston Forward Times has been reporting on the redistricting process in Texas. If you have been following our reporting, we have consistently highlighted the efforts that Texas Democrats, civil rights advocacy groups, and people of color undertook to object to the Texas Republicans’ statewide redistricting map that was eventually approved. According to the 2020 census data, over 4 million people moved to Texas since 2010 census, with the lion share of those people being people of color. That increase should have warranted increased and equal representation for African Americans and people of color, but Senate Bill 6 created no new districts in Texas for the over 9 out of 10 new residents of color in Texas from 2010 to 2020.
After intense discussions and community input, Harris County and Fort Bend County recently passed their redistricting maps, both of which seemingly benefit Democrat-leaning voters.
The Harris County redistricting issue was the most hotly contested of the two, in that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, joined with Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis (Precinct 1) and Adrian Garcia (Precinct 2) on October 28th, to approve a last-minute modified proposal by Commissioner Ellis that practically solidifies at least two Democrat-leaning precincts in Precinct 1 and Precinct 2. The vote passed (3-2) on a straight-party line vote.
Even more eye-opening in the proposal is that it forces current Commissioners Tom Ramsey (Precinct 3) and Jack Cagle (Precinct 4) to swap precincts. In essence, the maps now have nearly all of Commissioner Ramsey’s Precinct 3 constituents moving into Precinct 4, while nearly all of Commissioner Cagle’s Precinct 4 constituents will be moving into Precinct 3. As the current map is drawn, Commissioner Ramsey resides in Precinct 3 and currently represents Precinct 3 constituents, while Commissioner Cagle resides in Precinct 4 and currently represents Precinct 4 constituents. Based on the newly approved redistricting map, Commissioner Ramsey’s home will now be in Precinct 4 and Commissioner Cagle’s home will now be in Precinct 3, which means both commissioners will have to change their residence if they hope to continue representing their current constituents moving forward. Otherwise, they will have to face the uphill battle of getting to know an all-new constituency and earn their vote.
As stated earlier, the saying goes, “It ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun.”
The Houston Forward Times reported on how Texas Republicans in Austin sought to do something similar with the current congressional seats of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) and Congressman Al Green (TX-9), but it There is a common saying that goes “It ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun,” which practically means that at some point the tables turned on the people who had the upper hand on a situation at one point in time, and then a pivot happens which now benefits those who had the short end of the stick.
That is what has happened recently in both Harris and Fort Bend Counties relative to the polarizing process of redistricting.
The Houston Forward Times has been reporting on the redistricting process in Texas. If you have been following our reporting, we have consistently highlighted the efforts that Texas Democrats, civil rights advocacy groups, and people of color undertook to object to the Texas Republicans’ statewide redistricting map that was eventually approved. According to the 2020 census data, over 4 million people moved to Texas since 2010 census, with the lion share of those people being people of color. That increase should have warranted increased and equal representation for African Americans and people of color, but Senate Bill 6 created no new districts in Texas for the over 9 out of 10 new residents of color in Texas from 2010 to 2020.
After intense discussions and community input, Harris County and Fort Bend County recently passed their redistricting maps, both of which seemingly benefit Democrat-leaning voters.
The Harris County redistricting issue was the most hotly contested of the two, in that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, joined with Harris County Commissioners Rodney Ellis (Precinct 1) and Adrian Garcia (Precinct 2) on October 28th, to approve a last-minute modified proposal by Commissioner Ellis that practically solidifies at least two Democrat-leaning precincts in Precinct 1 and Precinct 2. The vote passed (3-2) on a straight-party line vote.
Even more eye-opening in the proposal is that it forces current Commissioners Tom Ramsey (Precinct 3) and Jack Cagle (Precinct 4) to swap precincts. In essence, the maps now have nearly all of Commissioner Ramsey’s Precinct 3 constituents moving into Precinct 4, while nearly all of Commissioner Cagle’s Precinct 4 constituents will be moving into Precinct 3. As the current map is drawn, Commissioner Ramsey resides in Precinct 3 and currently represents Precinct 3 constituents, while Commissioner Cagle resides in Precinct 4 and currently represents Precinct 4 constituents. Based on the newly approved redistricting map, Commissioner Ramsey’s home will now be in Precinct 4 and Commissioner Cagle’s home will now be in Precinct 3, which means both commissioners will have to change their residence if they hope to continue representing their current constituents moving forward. Otherwise, they will have to face the uphill battle of getting to know an all-new constituency and earn their vote.
As stated earlier, the saying goes, “It ain’t no fun when the rabbit’s got the gun.”
The Houston Forward Times reported on how Texas Republicans in Austin sought to do something similar with the current congressional seats of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) and Congressman Al Green (TX-9), but it