Tag Archives: redistricting

HCC redistricting update

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The last of the HCC public meetings on redistricting is tonight at 7 at HCC – Northeast College (map here), so those of you that are into that sort of thing should make plans to attend. There is now a … Continue reading →

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Updated Seliger-Solomons numbers

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I had previously run the numbers for the new Congressional districts in the Seliger-Solomons plan. Now that we’ve gone from Plan C125 to Plan C130, let’s see what they look like now. Here’s a side-by-side comparison, with the districts grouped … Continue reading →

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Senate approves Congressional map

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On to the House. A new redistricting map, drawn to promote and protect Republican interests in the U.S. Congress, sailed out of the GOP-led state Senate Monday. The map, predictably approved 18-12 along strict party lines, would give Republicans a … Continue reading →

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Wendy Davis profile

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib profiles State Sen. Wendy Davis. It’s a good read. The filibuster was a defining moment for Davis, a twice-divorced single mother who had her first daughter as a teenager, was the first in her family to go to … Continue reading →

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Who’s running for what where?

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Chris Cillizza notes an old familiar face who’s back on the scene. Former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) is running again after losing his seat to businessman Francisco Canseco (R) last fall. Rodriguez won the seat in an 2006 special election, … Continue reading →

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Seliger-Solomons 2.0

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Go to http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us and have a gander at Plan C130 to see the version of the Seliger-Solomons Congressional plan that was passed last night by the Senate redistricting committee. The biggest changes are in and around Harris County, mostly due … Continue reading →

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Senate committee approves redistricting map

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That was quick. A state Senate panel, voting along strict party lines, approved a Texas Congressional redistricting plan designed to increase Republican strength in the U.S. Congress. The Senate redistricting committee voted 8-4 to send the map to the full … Continue reading →

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Solomons admits his map is a joke

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

OK, that’s not quite what he said, but you get the idea. A top state Republican said Thursday that the newly proposed congressional map, which includes an odd-looking “horseshoe” district stretching from the northwestern edge of Harris County to the … Continue reading →

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More on the Seliger-Solomons plan

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Dunham has a nice analysis of the proposed Congressional map that’s worth your time to read. I disagree with him on two related points. Republicans successfully shored up three districts they captured from Democrats in the past two election … Continue reading →

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The Seliger-Solomons Congressional map is out

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And it’s a joke. Seriously, I can’t describe it any other way. Look at the following districts – go to http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/ and look up Plan C125 – and tell me how they can possibly satisfy any rational legal argument for … Continue reading →

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Veasey’s Congressional plan

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We didn’t get a Congressional map from the Senate Redistricting Committee, though we may now get one in a special session but that didn’t stop State Rep. Marc Veasey from drawing his own before sine die. In Veasey’s map, thirteen … Continue reading →

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Get ready for the special session

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Ready or not, here they come back. And with the start of the special session comes a little surprise. Gov. Rick Perry and legislative leaders hope to move through a series of bills quickly during the special session that begins … Continue reading →

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Special session for windstorm insurance looms

Posted on May 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Today may be sine die for the 82nd Legislature, but members should be prepared to come back later this summer. Legislative negotiators announced Saturday night that they could not reach agreement on a windstorm insurance reform bill, making a special … Continue reading →

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HCC redistricting

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out that the HCC Trustees have done some work on redistricting for themselves. Their meeting agenda for May 19 lists “Resolution Accepting Draft Plans for Redistricting of HCCS Board of Trustees Districts and Confirming Public Hearings” as the fourth … Continue reading →

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Will Perry call a special session to force the Lege to draw a Congressional map?

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Gov. Rick Perry today said state lawmakers should be the ones to draw new congressional districts, not judges. “I do think that the responsibility is with the members of the Legislature,” Perry said this morning. “To allow the courts … Continue reading →

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Lege officially punts on Congressional redistricting

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If you had told me at the beginning of the session that this would happen, I would not have believed you. The chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, just confirmed to LegeLand that it won’t happen this … Continue reading →

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Where we stand on redistricting

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

With final passage of SB31 and HB150, the Senate and House redistricting bills, the Lege has done three of its four redistricting-related tasks. There’s still a pretty big one not yet done, however, and it’s not looking like they’ll get … Continue reading →

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HISD does its redistricting

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Doesn’t get much easier than this. Houston ISD trustees today approved a preliminary plan to redistrict their positions in response to changing demographics. The plan, now available for public comment, generated no controversy among the Houston Independent School District board … Continue reading →

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House approves Senate redistricting map

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Three down, one to go. The Texas House today gave preliminary approval to the Senate redistricting map that would give Travis County four state senators. The sponsor of Senate Bill 31, Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, pushed to pass the map … Continue reading →

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Still going after Doggett

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Scott Stroud suggests there’s a new ploy by Republicans in the works to get rid of Rep. Lloyd Doggett. Congressman Lamar Smith, the Republican charged with redrawing Texas’ congressional districts, has floated a map that would transform Doggett’s district into … Continue reading →

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More on the new Council districts

Posted on May 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For just about everything you could want to know about the new Council districts, go read Greg. Population and registered voter data, 2009 election returns, a look at how the districts have changed and may change in the future, it’s … Continue reading →

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Council officially approves new redistricting map

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Let the filings begin! The Houston City Council approved a new political map for the city on Wednesday that expands the council by two seats and gives Houston’s burgeoning Latino population what community leaders see as its best opportunity to … Continue reading →

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Senate approves modified Senate map

Posted on May 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: The Texas Senate approved new political districts that protect all of the Republican and all but one of the Democratic incumbents in that body, but stalled on a House redistricting map already approved in the House. […] … Continue reading →

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Senate passes supplemental appropriation with extra rainy day funds

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I hadn’t realized that the Senate hadn’t gotten around to passing a bill to close the deficit from the last biennium, since the House had done that a long time ago amid a huge debate about using Rainy … Continue reading →

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More redistricting lawsuits filed

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And to think, we don’t even have a Congressional plan yet. A federal lawsuit filed Monday by some Texas House members blasts the use of “inaccurate” 2010 Census data in the remapping of state political jurisdictions. The lawsuit by the … Continue reading →

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Senate redistricting map approved by committee

Posted on May 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That didn’t take long. Rejecting pleas to keep most of Travis County in a single Senate district, the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting [Friday] morning approved a plan that will divide the capital city into four senatorial districts. The Republican-dominated … Continue reading →

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Let the candidate speculation season begin!

Posted on May 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have Congressional districts yet but we do have potential Congressional candidates. Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos is considering seeking higher office. Villalobos told Action 4 News he is considering running for congress and has officially formed an … Continue reading →

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Senate redistricting hearing

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So the Senate Redistricting Committee hearing was today. See if you can spot a theme here. Sen. Kirk Watson expressed his dissatisfaction with the map that was introduced by Sen. Kel Seliger. At a morning hearing of the Senate Select … Continue reading →

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Prioritizing the target list

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So now that we’ve had a tour of the possible targets for the Democrats in 2012, how would I prioritize them? Let’s start with the districts I’d call the Must Haves, and the Really Nice To Haves: Dist Incumbent County … Continue reading →

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Senate map is out, controversy precedes it

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Before we had a State Senate map, we had a brawl brewing over one proposed district on it. Accusing the state Senate’s Republican leaders of a “shameful partisan attack,” Sen. Wendy Davis said Tuesday that a new redistricting map for … Continue reading →

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Are there any seats Dems could lose?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’ve heard someone express the view that if there’s a silver lining for the Democrats after the 2010 election, it’s that their decimated caucus offers no real targets for the Republicans to aim for. The Rs weren’t completely … Continue reading →

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Mayor presents revised Council map

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the release. There was a press conference today at 10 to roll it out. Mayor Annise Parker today revealed a second version of the staff redistricting map that incorporates recommendations from members of various Houston communities. The new plan … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: Harris County

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For our last stop on this tour we look at Harris County, which provided several pickup opportunities for Democrats last decade. How will they fare this time around? Republicans started the last decade with a 14-11 advantage – they intended … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: The Metroplex

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Dallas and Tarrant Counties will each have eight districts drawn to elect Republicans in them. For this entry, I’m going to look at each of these districts. First up is Tarrant County, which gains a district (HD101) for a total … Continue reading →

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