Arlington council approves new voting districts, map over some opposition
The Arlington City Council voted 7-1 to give final approval Tuesday evening to a new map of voting districts that it said best met the legal requirements for redistricting.
Ruby Faye Woolridge, councilwoman for District 6, voted in favor of other items on the consent agenda but asked her vote on the redistricting be recorded as opposed. Mayor Jim Ross was not present.
Rezzin Pullum of the Bojorquez Law Firm in Austin, a municipal law firm hired by the city to consult on the maps, said Dec. 7 that legal reviews showed the map approved Tuesday was the best option.
The map was opposed Dec. 7 by representatives from the League of United Latin American Citizens and the NAACP, who said the map did not adequately represent the diversity of the city. Pullum and city councilmembers said the accusations were unfounded and that the map was the best option.
NAACP and LULAC presented a map of their own to the council, but Pullum, a lawyer, said the map carried too many legal problems to be approved.
The council also unanimously approved development plans for Arlington Commons Panhandle residential development, Alliance For Children’s new building, a Wendy’s drive-thru only restaurant in south Arlington and the next phase of Knight’s Landing residential area, all of which received initial approval on Dec. 7.
This story was originally published December 14, 2021 at 8:29 PM.