(Almost) Final two Dallas City Council Redistricting Maps

Click on chart to enlarge.

The majority of the Dallas City Council has now agreed on a "Composite Map."  It has the names of 8 of the 14 council members attached to it.  It can be seen as the final entry on the list of plans for the September 24, 2011 Public Forum at http://www.dallascityhall.com/Redistricting/planReview.html . 

With the Composite Map, minority representation will struggle to maintain 7 minority seats instead of looking toward the potential for a possible 9th and 10th minority seat on the Dallas City Council, as the Rawling's wPlan03c Map allows.  There is potentially a 3 to 4 minority seat difference between these two Maps.  Here is how that happens:

1. District 2 maintains its shape in the Composite Map except for the additional 15,000 in population that was needed to make up for population lost over the past decade. During the past decade District 2 lost more Hispanic population than any other district in Dallas. Hispanic population percentages went from 71% to 61%. With the Composite Map, District 2 will begin the next decade with only a 54% Hispanic population. What indicates the decrease in Hispanic population will stop? The potential for District 2 to maintain a Hispanic leader is in danger with the Composite Map. In Mayor Rawling's wPlan03c Map, District 2 moves to the east, keeps the families in East Dallas, and includes the growing Hispanic population in far East Dallas. It also starts the decade with a 58% Hispanic population. While this is the weakest Hispanic district in the Rawling's wPlan03c Map, it is over 3 percentage points stronger than each of two weak Hispanic districts in the Composite Map.
2. With the Composite Map, District 3 has a Hispanic percentage of 52%. In Mayor Rawling's wPlan03c Map District 3 has 66%.
3. The Composite Map does not have a minority opportunity district wherein Hispanic population is in the majority. In Mayor Rawling's wPlan03c Map there are two stronger minority opportunity districts than in the Composite Map, and one of them, District 9, is 43% Hispanic!
4. Since 2001 the Black population in District 7 has fallen from 53% to 46%. In the Composite Map District 7 begins the next decade as only 50% Black. In Mayor Rawling's wPlan03c Map District 7 begins the decade as 66% Black.
5. The average Black voting age percentage for the 3 majority Black districts is only 59.92% in the Composite Map, but 63.07% in Mayor Rawling's wPlan03c Map.
6. The average Hispanic voting age percentage for the 5 majority Hispanic districts is 61.44% in the Composite Map and 62.53% in Mayor Rawling's wPlan03c Map.
7. Rawling's more compact map will eliminate 60 miles of gerrymandering boundary lines, uniting neighborhoods and contibuting to increased citizen involvement.

The 11"x17" comparison map, linked above, was copied and presented at the 9/28/11 Dallas City Council meeting.  Each council member was given a color 17x11 copy of the above chart.  They responded quietly. Several were seen studying it after the presentation.

Please contact your council person to ask questions. Urge them to support Rawling's wPlan03c Map.  They have this map in their possession, and some have studied it. Here is the link to their contact information: http://www.dallascityhall.com/government/council/contact_mcc.html