Single-member district map OK'd

HARLINGEN - City commissioners voted Wednesday to approve the third of five maps for single-member voting districts.

Although commissioners were not totally satisfied with any one map, Austin-based consultant David Mendez told officials a choice had to be made so a map could be submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice this week to have the districts in place by the next election.

While Harlingen presently has an all-Anglo city commission, the changes being made must allow racial minorities to have a better chance of election in order to receive federal approval, Mendez said.

All future changes must be submitted for federal approval, Mendez said.

Although the districts cannot violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act, they also cannot violate the rights of Anglos to participate in local politics under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Mendez said.

Compiling the maps was complicated by using out-of-date 2000 census data, Mendez said.

Also, the maps it's likely that the maps will need to be revised twice before the next election, officials learned. Population growth and a possible annexation will change the districts.

As a group, Hispanics are generally younger and 87 percent are likely to be U.S. citizens, compared with about 98 or 99 percent of Anglos, he said.

Members of Citizens for a Better Harlingen had presented two maps for consideration.

Commissioner Jay Meade, who said he opposed single-member districts, said there are "only five or 10 guys" on the committee, so "Citizens Committee" is a misnomer.

But Commissioner Tom Hushen said, since that group that gathered more than enough votes to put the issue on the ballot, their maps should also be seriously considered.

"We've come a long way," committee member Tony Gutierrez, a former city and county commissioner, said. "You gave us three weeks to come up with 1,000 voters' (signatures to place the issue on the ballot) and we came up with 2,500 voters."

More than 70 percent of city voters approved single-member districts, Gutierrez said.

Committee member Desi Martinez said much thought went into maps that his group submitted. The comnmitte also hired a consultant, he said.

"The committee wanted neighborhoods to be represented, not just Hispanics," Martinez said. "We came up with some plans. All the maps (submitted by the consultant and the committee) meet the law," he said.

Mendez had pointed out he doesn't know Harlingen neighborhoods, Martinez reminded commissioners.

"If you don't live in a community, you don't know the heart of a community," Martinez said.

Which church a family attends or which schools their children attend are not legally required to be considered when drawing districts, but they should be, Martinez said.

Mayor Chris Boswell reminded people at the meeting the issue of single-member districts has already settled by voters.

The issue at hand was to decide which map to choose and submit one for federal approval.

Commissioner Bobby Farris asked Mendez to assure Harlingen citizens that he had not been pressured by any commissioner, or any Harlingen resident, and he was not paid anything except the $25,000 contract his law firm has to prepare the maps.

Mendez said he has nothing to gain if one map is chosen over another.

City Manager Craig Lonon said he told Mendez to try to avoid splitting voter precincts as much as possible when drawing the maps.

But after the meeting, committee member Ernesto Silva, a former Mercedes city manager, said the chosen map splits more voter precincts than any of the other maps.

THE MAP
To view the map approved by city commissioners, click here