FORT WORTH -- The Justice Department "pre-cleared" Fort Worth's proposed City Council redistricting map, meaning it should be in place for next year's elections, barring litigation and court intervention.
Hispanic groups maintained their protests over the map, arguing that it gives them a real shot to win in only one district even though Hispanics make up more than a third of the city's population.Fernando Florez, a south-side leader and representative of the United Hispanic Council, said the group hasn't decided what to do next. It has threatened to sue over the map."We're going to go forward," he said. "We're not going to give up on this."The Justice Department, in a two-paragraph letter to City Attorney Sarah Fullenwider, dated Oct. 1, said in standard language that "the Attorney General does not interpose any objection to the specified change."Because Texas has a history of racial discrimination, the state can't implement redistricting maps without federal approval. The Justice Department reviews them to ensure that they don't leave minority groups worse off, known as "retrogression" in the federal Voting Rights Act.A group can still sue the city under another section of the act, arguing "dilution." The group would have to prove that it is large and focused enough to make up a majority in a district, is "politically cohesive" and is blocked from winning by a white majority."I think it's a clear shot that we can win" under those criteria, Florez said.During the redistricting debate, the United Hispanic Council focused on the near-south-side district of Councilman Joel Burns, saying the heavily Anglo neighborhoods of Berkeley Place, Mistletoe Heights, Park Hill and TCU vote in high numbers and dilute Hispanic voting from neighborhoods such as Worth Heights.Under the redistricting map, District 9 goes to 58 percent Hispanic from 54 percent. But it also retains the neighborhoods Hispanics have questioned and wanted sent to another district.Councilman Sal Espino, who represents the heavily Hispanic north-side District 2, said he thinks the Hispanic groups have a better shot at proving dilution than retrogression, given voting patterns in District 9."In a city that is 34 percent Hispanic, you really only have the one district where Hispanics can elect a candidate of choice," said Espino, who favored going from eight council districts and an at-large-elected mayor to 10 council districts and the mayor.Burns, who represents District 9, opposed removing the neighborhoods and has noted that he was elected by a coalition of Anglo and Hispanic voters.Little opposition surfaced in the district to maintaining it under the new council map.The new map adds the Oakhurst, South Hills and Sunset Heights neighborhoods to District 9 and sends the western part of TCU and part of Colonial Hills to the west-side district of Mayor Pro Tem W.B. "Zim" Zimmerman."I think that any courts that look at this will share the same response the Justice Department did," Burns said.Burns has also maintained that the District 9 neighborhoods have strong similarities and are "communities of interest," one of the city's key districting criteria.Florez said the neighborhoods west of Eighth Avenue are significantly different in makeup from those to the east. "Those aren't communities of interest," he said.Mayor Betsy Price said the Justice Department's letter "means our redistricting issues are pretty settled.""It means the DOJ agrees with us that it's an equal representation and a fair representation for our citizens," she said.She defended the redistricting process as "very transparent."Elsewhere, the redistricting, carried out every 10 years after the census to even out population per district, had the biggest impact on Espino's district. The district sheds large parts of far north Fort Worth to Districts 7 and 4, held by Dennis Shingleton and Danny Scarth.Scott Nishimura, 817-390-7808Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
