http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4106814.html Aug. 10, 2006, 9:02AM City Council may grow by two seats New census data could require redrawn districts, setting stage for political conflict By MATT STILES Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle Population growth could force Houston into the potentially tricky issue of redrawing its City Council districts, perhaps requiring two new members by the fall 2007 elections. The decision, Mayor Bill White told the council Wednesday, would depend on whether updated U.S. Census Bureau estimates, expected to be released next week, show the city has grown to more than 2.1 million residents. That would trigger a provision in the city charter that requires two extra single-member council districts, White said. The city now has nine single-member districts covering specific geographic areas and five at-large districts, each of which covers the entire city. "It will require some reconfiguration of every district within the city, practically," he said. "Obviously, we want to keep as much continuity as we can, so the citizens learn that they are part of a district. We want to keep neighborhoods together." Some community activists have hoped adding the new districts — which would be known as J and K — could bring the election of new Hispanic or black council members, keeping up with the city's changing demographics. Thus, the complicated process has the potential to divide some on the council and the community along racial or political lines, depending on where the seats are drawn and the makeup of the residents within them. If population growth requires the change, White said he would immediately appoint a "diverse, bipartisan" council committee to study how to proceed. He also said outside experts could be called in to help. Jerry Wood, a retired city planner and redistricting expert, said Houston residents should expect a complicated process of deciphering the makeup and location of new districts. But that could mean their districts are smaller in both population and geography, possibly giving individual neighborhoods more sway over who gets elected, and the issues pushed by their respective members. "It gives more focus to the district representative," Wood said. "But it also gives the population of the district a chance to be more representative of the person it elects." The 2000 census pegged the city's population at about 1.95 million, meaning the nine single-member districts had roughly 215,000 people. If the population has grown to 2.1 million, members would represent about 190,000 residents. Many predicted that the city would have 2.1 million residents by the time of the 2010 census. And members of White's staff had previously deferred a decision on redistricting until then, when more precise population data would be available. But the city may already have passed that mark, White said Wednesday, particularly with the recent addition of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The expected new census data, called the American Community Survey, relies on statistical analysis, as opposed to the complete coverage of the decennial count. Wood said that could make the process more complicated, and create the possibility of conflict. "It's the distribution of power. By definition it's going to be contentious," he said. "But if you can get everybody on board to the methods that are driving it, then you have an opportunity to deal with it at the outset." White said he would seek consensus on the methodology. He said he asked Councilwoman Carol Alvarado to study ways of precisely determining where new Houstonians have settled, including using water bills, construction permits and other indicators. She and others on the council expressed optimism that the process would be civil. Houston adopted its current district system in 1979, when the Supreme Court ruled that the city had to comply with the Voting Rights Act and heighten the chance of minority council representation. All council members previously were elected at-large. The city had a white majority then and minority candidates were not likely to win seats. The City Council now has eight whites, three blacks, two Hispanics and one Asian. Houston's last mayor was black and the current one is white. No Hispanic has served as mayor. matt.stiles@chron.com
Man, from the thread title alone, I thought someone in the Council was on the verge of becoming really, really fat. Any bets?
I don't know. Each district seat should change (area wide). I'm pretty sure the two new seats will be hotly contested races though.
