FORT WORTH -- Hundreds of thousands of dollars hang in the balance as the date of Texas' primary remains up in the air.
Officials with both major state parties made sizable down payments months ago on meeting and hotel space for state conventions in June -- Republicans in Fort Worth, Democrats in Houston -- which could be in jeopardy if officials again delay the primary.Originally planned for March, the primary has been pushed to April 3 to give federal judges time to decide which redistricting maps should be used. But that may not be enough, potentially pushing the primary further into April or May or June. If it were delayed much more, holding the conventions on the scheduled dates could be difficult or impossible."This is all too typical of redistricting years," said Larry Sabato, a political analyst and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. "The partisan wars, the Justice Department's decisions and the courts are ingredients in a goulash made to order for gumming up the works."As lawyers, politicians, federal election officials and a host of federal judges wade into the issue of Texas' congressional and state legislative boundaries, the state's conventions -- a few days set aside every other year to energize the party and choose delegates for national conventions -- hang in the balance."It is indeed a mess," said Allan Saxe, associate professor of government at the University of Texas at Arlington. "We have had redistricting battles in past years, but this one ranks right up there."Confusing timesThe scheduling of Texas' primary has been bogged down by months of legal wrangling that has crisscrossed courts in Texas and landed before federal officials in San Antonio, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Justice Department.The Supreme Court injected even more doubt this month when justices told the San Antonio panel to come up with a different set of maps, better based on versions drawn by the Legislature last year.A process that has become as clear as mud began simply: Texas gained four congressional seats that should be included when state lawmakers redraw boundaries to reflect population changes in the past 10 years.Determining where and how to place those districts has been a big part of the problem.The GOP-led Legislature drew maps last year reconfiguring Texas' U.S. House districts and state House and Senate districts. Democrats and minority leaders disagreed with some boundaries and sued.The San Antonio court redrew the maps, which have been sent back for a do-over, and federal authorities have yet to clear a set of maps or rule whether the Legislature-drawn maps are discriminatory.During a federal court conference in San Antonio on Friday, judges told those involved to work through the weekend to determine which districts they disagree on to reduce the areas the judges need to address "if you want to have an election in April."An election anytime in April would preserve the dates of scheduled county and senatorial district conventions and of the June conventions.Cowtown conventionThe Republican Party of Texas plans to host a convention for up to 18,000 party faithful -- one of the largest Republican gatherings in the country -- at the Fort Worth Convention Center from June 7 to June 9.In a culmination of talks that began in 2005, the party has reserved meeting rooms, exhibit halls and ballrooms for the event, which can cost $800,000 to $900,000, officials say.More than 5,000 room nights in 12 hotels are under contract, said David DuBois, president and chief executive officer of the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau.If the convention were canceled, three-fourths of the overall cost would still be due, records show."We are working diligently ... to find a way to keep the unified April 3 primary election," said Chris Elam, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas. "Keeping the convention on June 7-9 is another important concern of this very complicated process, but with an April 3 election, we will be able to pull it off."If the convention dates are moved, the costs could be well over half a million for the RPT."As a contingency plan, DuBois said the visitors bureau is researching alternate dates later in June."Honestly, no one knows right now whether the [convention] will be moved or not," DuBois said. "Regardless of your politics, this is a great piece of business for the city of Fort Worth, and we will work to ensure it is a success for our community."Houston-boundThe Texas Democratic Party expects up to 14,000 delegates and attendees June 8-9 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.More than 4,000 room nights will be booked, and the headquarters hotel is the Hilton Americas-Houston, said Lindsey Brown, director of marketing and public relations for the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.Canceling the hotel contracts less than a year in advance would leave the party responsible for 80 percent of the rooms reserved through Hilton Americas, said Rebecca Acuna, a spokeswoman for the Texas Democratic Party.By canceling the hotel rooms and convention center space, the party could lose more than a quarter-million dollars, estimates show. The typical cost of a party convention can run $350,000 to $450,000, Acuna said.The party has been exploring options in case federal officials don't act in time to preserve the April 3 and June dates."We have looked at the availability of other convention centers across the state," Acuna said. "We have not looked at other hotels yet since we are already under contract."Delegates for state conventions are chosen from senatorial and congressional districts. Without maps in place, delegates could not be chosen for state or national conventions."The date is set, and we don't anticipate anything changing," Brown said.Other optionsThere has been talk that federal officials will delay Texas' primary until late June, which would make the current convention dates impossible.They have also talked about splitting the primary, leaving the presidential and other unaffected races on April 3 and moving congressional and state legislative races to a later date.Holding two primaries would essentially double the cost, something officials statewide told judges last year that they can't afford. It would also likely decrease voter turnout, experts say.Democrats have said in court documents that they prefer a unified primary. Republicans have agreed."A single unified primary in early April is the best possible result, and still obtainable, but the ability to accomplish this rests squarely in the hands of the three-judge panel and the timeliness of their action," Republican Party of Texas Chairman Steve Munisteri wrote in a recent note to members.Anna M. Tinsley, 817-390-7610Twitter: @annatinsleyHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
