Following a lengthy — and some would say exclusive — review process, an appointed Redistricting Committee announced Tuesday it will move forward with Map 041-B, which adjusts boundary lines for the city’s 14 city council districts.
Triggered by U.S. Census data, the redistricting process is required every 10 years to account for changes in population growth.
Once the map is presented to the Dallas City Council, elected officials have 45 days to make changes and approve it. The boundary lines, which go into effect for the May 2023 city council election, must also be approved by the U.S. Justice Department.
Critics already are speaking out against the proposed map, which was created by District 14 Redistricting Commissioner Norma Minnis and amended by Minnis and community leaders Randal Bryant, Brent Rosenthal, and Bob Stimson. The map was approved in a 10-5 vote by the Redistricting Commission.
John Botefuhr, a former District 9 Dallas City Council candidate, voiced his opinion about Map 041-B on social media.
“And now our little neighborhood shall compete with Harry Hines, The Hospital District, Downtown around Industrial, Deep Ellum, and out to Mesquite for a voice,” he wrote. “It’s the most screwy geographical district in the city.”
Some residents, already concerned that they were notified late in the process and no information was distributed in Spanish, are saying the map falls short on Hispanic opportunity districts or that “Black, indigent, and people of color” have been underrepresented.
“From what was selected as finalists, it appears that race was the primary criteria rather than making the districts as compact as possible and as close to the ideal population number of 93,169. Deviating from that number by as much as 10% violates [in my humble opinion] the concept of ‘one man, one vote,’” wrote records management officer Peter Kurilecz on a redistricting comment page.
Casa View resident John Burton, who lives in District 9, also took issue with the approved map.
“Districts should be compact and contiguous, and this new district is neither,” he said. “[District 2] now stretches from Casa View by the Mesquite border in Northeast Dallas down to Deep Ellum, while excluding a chunk of the Ferguson Road Initiative area. Then, down by Riverfront, it makes a huge turn up Harry Hines to Love Field. It’s sort of a boomerang shape district from Northeast Dallas to West Dallas now. Personally, I love all these parts of Dallas, but if you look at the rest of the districts, it’s clear who was not a priority.”
Archived footage of hearings on the matter and other related documents are posted on the city’s redistricting website. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
