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[Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission Public Hearing District 2]
GOOD EVENING.UM, THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH US.
WE WERE GETTING STARTED A LITTLE LATE, CAUSE WE THOUGHT MAYBE WE WOULD GET A COUPLE OF MORE, UM, PARTICIPANTS, BUT WE'RE JUST GOING TO GET STARTED.
SO I AM THE CHAIR OF OUR INDEPENDENT CITIZENS, REDISTRICTING COMMISSION AND, UM, OUR VICE CHAIR, LOUIS GONZALEZ, RIGHT OVER HERE.
WE'LL START US OFF THIS EVENING.
UM, AND TELL US ABOUT WHAT IS ON THE AGENDA FOR TONIGHT.
UH, OFFERING UP ONE OF YOUR PRECIOUS EVENINGS, UM, TO DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF REDISTRICTING AND ITS IMPACT ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN WITH US.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING AS WE'VE QUICKLY HAD TO SHIFT PLANS FOR SOME OF OUR FORUMS, GIVEN THE SEVERITY OF THE ONGOING COVID-19 PANDEMIC, I'D LIKE TO WALK YOU THROUGH OUR AGENDA FOR THIS EVENING.
THE GOAL TODAY IS TO WRAP UP BY 8:00 PM.
ON THIS SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE SOME OF OUR LINKS TO OUR WEB PRESENCE, OUR FACEBOOK OR TWITTER OR INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS, WAYS THAT YOU CAN STAY CONNECTED TO THE WORK OF THE ICRC.
LONG AFTER YOU LEAVE THIS EVENING'S FORUM.
I ALSO WANT TO TAKE THE TIME TO THANK SOME OF OUR LOCAL MEDIA PARTNERS, SUCH AS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER.
THE AUSTIN MONITOR THE AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN THAT'LL MUNDO, THE FOX NEWS, THE FOX SEVEN NEWS CHANNEL AND RADIO STATION.
CO-OP 91.7 FOR THEIR RECENT ICR COVERAGE AND SUPPORT IN PROMOTING OUR PUBLIC FORUMS. LIKE THE ONE YOU ARE ATTENDING THIS EVENING.
JUST A QUICK REMINDER FOR EVERYONE.
UH, THE CITY HAS UNFORTUNATELY REENTERED STAGE FIVE RISK COVID LEVELS.
AGAIN, WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO PLEASE WEAR FACE COVERINGS.
UM, UNLESS YOU ARE SPEAKING, UH, SHOW COMPASSION TO YOUR FELLOW NEIGHBOR AND MASK UP JUST AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE MYSELF AND THE REST OF THE COMMISSIONERS THAT YOU SEE UP HERE.
UH, REPRESENTING DISTRICT ONE, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER AERO HARDING, AND WE ALSO HAVE COMMISSIONER SILVINA E FOR DISTRICT THREE.
WE HAVE COMMISSIONERS LONG DELAY AND COMMISSIONERS BRING THEM MORRIS FOR DISTRICT FOUR.
WE HAVE COMMISSIONER STERLING.
LANCE CAN NOT BE WITH US THIS EVENING.
WE HAVE COMMISSIONER PRABHU KANAAN FOR DISTRICT SIX.
WE HAVE COMMISSIONER EUGENE SCHNEIDER.
DISTRICT SEVEN IS REPRESENTED BY BOTH THE CHAIR, CHRISTINA
WE HAVE COMMISSIONER JOSHUA BLINK COMMISSIONER NINE, EXCUSE ME, DISTRICT NINE, COMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER SHANA CAMBO DISTRICT 10 IS REPRESENTED BY MYSELF.
I AM VICE CHAIR, LOUIS GONZALES, AS WELL AS COMMISSIONER AARON DEMPSEY AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, DISTRICT TWO IS REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER SAT AT UNESCO ALVATON I'LL TURN OVER THE MIC TO THE COMMISSIONER TO INTRODUCE HERSELF A LITTLE BIT MORE AND GIVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT HERSELF COMMISSIONER.
UH, I'M
I ALWAYS TELL FOLKS IT'S MY FAVE BECAUSE NO ONE EVER COMES DOWN HERE.
SO IF THERE'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, ACL OR SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, OR LIKE A MARATHON, YOU CAN JUST GO ON WITH YOUR NORMAL EVERYDAY LIFE.
UM, AND UM, I'VE ALWAYS HAD REALLY GREAT NEIGHBORS DOWN HERE, UH, WHICH I DIDN'T HAVE IN OTHER PARTS OF TOWN, UH, IN TEXAS THAT I'VE LIVED.
AND, UM, YEAH, SO IT'S MY, IT'S MY, IT'S MY FAVORITE PART OF TOWN I HAVEN'T EVER REALLY LIVED ANYWHERE ELSE.
THE SEVERAL TIMES THAT I'VE LIVED HERE AND I'M SUPER EXCITED THAT Y'ALL CAME OUT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING TIME.
YOUR DRESS IS AMAZING AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING Y'ALL'S THOUGHTS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, COMMISSIONER, JUST A LITTLE BACKGROUND ABOUT THE ICRC IN 20 12, 60 1% OF AUSTIN VOTERS SET THE STANDARD FOR AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS FOR MAPPING OUR DISTRICTS.
THE VOTE APPROVED, REPLACING THE CITIES AT LARGE CITY COUNCIL SYSTEM THAT LACKED GEOGRAPHICAL AND RACIAL REPRESENTATION WITH THE CURRENT TEN ONE COUNCIL STRUCTURE CONSISTING OF 10 SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS.
PLUS OUR MAYOR, THE VOTE DRAMATICALLY CHANGED THE CITY'S ELECTION SYSTEM AND PROVIDED A POTENTIAL MODEL FOR CITIES NATIONWIDE TO PREVENT GERRYMANDERING ON BEHALF OF ANY ELECTED OFFICIAL.
THE DISTRICTS, AS WE VIEW THEM TODAY WERE DRAWN BY THE INDEPENDENT CITIZENS
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REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.THE ICRC HISTORY WAS MADE ON NOVEMBER 18TH, 2013.
WHEN AUSTIN BECAME THE FIRST CITY IN THE COUNTRY TO HAVE THE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS DRAWN THROUGH THE VOLUNTEERISM OF A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT GROUP OF REGULAR RESIDENTS.
THIS COMMISSION IS NOT SELECTED BY ANY POLITICIAN.
THE WAY THE OTHER REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS MAY OPERATE.
WE ARE VOLUNTEERS WHO APPLIED FOR OUR POSITIONS.
WE ARE AUSTIN RESIDENTS WHO DO CARE ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS AND HOW IT IS, HOW IT IS MANAGED.
SOME OF US HAVE FULL-TIME JOBS.
SOME OF US ARE STUDENTS, OTHERS HAVE FAMILY.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR FAMILY, WE ARE NOT PAID 1 CENT FOR THE WORK WE ARE DOING THIS BODY BEFORE YOU IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING THE NEW CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT MAP, NOT THE CITY COUNCIL, NOT THE MAYOR OF THE CITY MANAGER, NOR THE STATE.
WE'RE INDEPENDENT WITH A CAPITAL.
I, WE ARE CONDUCTING OUR DIFFICULT, TOUGH YET IMPORTANT WORK UP UP AGAINST A VERY TIGHT DEADLINE SOLELY WITH THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND ITS RESIDENTS IN MIND ON THIS SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT HISTORY AND SOME TEXT AT THE TOP OF THE SLIDE, BUT SOME BACKGROUND ABOUT THE COMMISSIONERS UP HERE AND HOW WE WERE SELECTED OVER 300 APPLICATIONS WERE RECEIVED FOR PLACEMENT ON THIS BODY.
OVER 89% OF THOSE APPLICATIONS MET MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS SUCH AS LIVING AND HAVING VOTED IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS AND WERE IDENTIFIED AS NOT HAVING ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
AN APPLICANT REVIEW PANEL MADE UP OF THREE CPAS THEN SELECTED 60 OF THE MOST QUALIFIED APPLICANTS THROUGHOUT RANDOM JOIN SYSTEM.
IF YOU WILL, THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE THEN SELECTED EIGHT COMMISSIONERS FROM THAT QUALIFIED POOL.
THOSE RANDOMLY SELECTED EIGHT COMMISSIONERS THEN HAD THE TASK OF CHOOSING THE SIX ADDITIONAL APPLICANTS FROM THE QUALIFIED POOL THAT LED US TO THE NUMBER 14, THE 14 COMMISSIONERS WHO WILL NOW WORK TO REACH ALL THE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES.
WE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT THE COMMISSION REFLECTED THE DIVERSITY OF AUSTIN WHILE WE PRIMARILY WANTED EACH OF THE DISTRICTS REPRESENTED ON THE ICRC, RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND GENDER DIVERSITY ALSO PLAYED A ROLE IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS.
I AM EXTREMELY PROUD TO SAY THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE ICRC ARE WONDERFULLY, WONDERFULLY DIVERSE IN LIVED AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, AGE, RACE, AND ETHNICITY.
SOME OF US COME FROM THE ENGINEERING AND TECH BACKGROUND.
OTHERS HAVE JOURNALISM BACKGROUNDS.
UM, SOME HAVE BACKGROUNDS WITH GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
WE HAVE A LAWYER AND A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER ON THIS COMMISSION.
WHAT ALIGNS US ALL THOUGH? EVERY ONE OF US CALLS AUSTIN, OUR HOME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR ROLE.
THE COMMISSION WILL DECIDE ON THESE NEW BOUNDARIES FOR OUR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS THROUGH AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS WITH MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC INPUT, UH, SUCH AS THE FORUM THAT YOU'RE ATTENDING THIS EVENING.
UM, AFTER THIS EVENING, WE'LL HAVE 11 ADDITIONAL FORUMS FOR PUBLIC INPUT BEFORE WE FINALIZE MAPS ON NOVEMBER 1ST IN ORDER TO DRAW THE DISTRICT BOUNDARIES, COMMISSIONERS NEED INPUT FROM RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS.
THAT PROCESS INVOLVES HOLDING PUBLIC FORUMS IN EACH OF THE 10 CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
SO WE ARE IN DISTRICT TWO RIGHT NOW WE WILL BE IN DISTRICT ONE AND THEN DISTRICT FIVE TO WRAP UP THAT PROCESS.
AFTER THAT WE COME UP WITH THE INITIAL DRAFT OF THE BOUNDARIES.
WE THEN GO OUT TO THE PUBLIC FOUR MORE TIMES, ONE IN EACH OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY PRECINCTS.
WE PROPOSE FINAL BOUNDARIES AND THEN HOLD TWO MORE PUBLIC MEETINGS, ONE NORTH OF THE RIVER AND ONE SOUTH BEFORE WE ADOPT FINAL BOUNDARIES BY NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 1ST, 2021.
AND AGAIN, JUST PLEASE KEEP THAT DATE IN MIND.
FIRST 2021, THE HIGHLIGHTED BULLET POINT THAT YOU SEE ON THIS SLIDE HERE.
THAT IS WHY YOU ARE HERE TODAY AND AGAIN, BROKEN RECORD, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH.
KNOW I'M GOING TO PASS THE MIC BACK TO SHAREPOINT TEST TO SPEAK ON WHY THIS ENTIRE, THE ENTIRE REDISTRICTING PROCESS MATTERS TO THOSE OF YOU IN ATTENDANCE THIS EVENING.
AND I SEE WE HAVE SOMEONE ELSE JOINING US.
SO, UM, YOU'RE HERE JUST IN TIME TO HEAR ABOUT WHY REDISTRICTING MATTERS.
SO OUR REDISTRICTING PROCESS MATTERS BECAUSE IT'S DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO YOUR FAIR REPRESENTATION.
YOU CAN ALSO SHARE A DISTRICT WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE SIMILAR CONCERNS AND WHOSE CAUSES YOU WANT TO ADVOCATE.
FOR MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE ANTIDOTE TO GERRYMANDERING PRACTICES.
WE SEE AT THE STATE LEVEL AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHERE POLITICAL DISTRICTS ARE DRAWN FOR THE PURPOSES OF GETTING POLITICIANS REELECTED RATHER THAN TO ENSURE THE FAIR REPRESENTATION AND INCREASED DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION.
SO OUR PROCESS MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR RESIDENTS TO HAVE
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THE OPPORTUNITY TO VOTE FOR A CANDIDATE OF THEIR CHOICE.SOMEONE YOU BELIEVE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU WHEN THEY GET TO OFFICE.
ONE CHALLENGE FOR THIS COMMISSION, AS VICE-CHAIR GONZALEZ REFERRED TO IS ENSURING THAT THE POOL OF APPLICANTS WILL ACCURATELY REFLECT THE DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY OF THE CITY'S ENTIRE POPULATION WHILE ALSO HAVING NO TIES TO CITY OR STATE POLITICS OR POLITICAL PARTIES.
AND HAVING LIVED IN VOTED IN AUSTIN FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS.
AGAIN, WE ARE INDEPENDENT WITH A CAPITAL I, A LITTLE RECENT HISTORY BACK IN 2015, THE SUPREME COURT AFFIRMED THAT VOTERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO ESTABLISH INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS AT A TIME WHEN POLITICIANS ELICIT DISTRUST, OUR CITIZEN REDISTRICTING CAN PROVIDE A TRANSPARENT AND TRANSFORMATIVE ALTERNATIVE TO POLITICS.
AS USUAL, THIS MOVEMENT INVITES THE INVOLVEMENT OF ANY AND ALL RESIDENTS.
OUR WORK CAN NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT PUBLIC FORUMS LIKE THIS ONE.
AND WITHOUT YOU AND ATTENDANCE TONIGHT DO THE 2013 INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING OF ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES WAS A GRASSROOTS FROM THE GROUND UP INITIATIVE.
IF YOU WERE HERE IN 2013, YOU SAW THIS, UM, AND WE, THE 2021 COMMISSION HOPE TO DO THE SAME THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE BELIEVE REPRESENTATION IS THE BACKBONE OF DEMOCRACY.
SO HOW DO WE DRAW THE MAPS? WE, UM, HAVE TO FOLLOW THE CITY CHARTER.
AND THIS IS SECTION THREE E THAT IS ON THE SCREEN.
UH, THE COMMISSIONERS MUST DRAW EACH DISTRICT'S BOUNDARIES USING THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA.
AND THIS IS AN ORDER OF PRIORITY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.
AND AT THE TOP, YOU KNOW, MOST OF OUR GUIDELINES, THERE ARE PRETTY CUT AND DRY.
WE HAVE TO REASONABLY CREATE THESE, OR I'M SORRY, CREATE REASONABLY EQUAL POPULATIONS IN EACH CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT, WE HAVE TO COMPLY WITH THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
UH, DISTRICTS HAVE GEOGRAPHICALLY, UH, MUST BE GEOGRAPHICALLY CONTIGUOUS, AND FINALLY, UH, THE GEOGRAPHIC INTEGRITY OF LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS OR LOCAL COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST SHALL BE RESPECTED IN A MANNER THAT MINIMIZES THEIR DIVISION TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE WITHOUT VIOLATING THE REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OF THE PRECEDING SUBSECTIONS.
THAT IS THE QUOTE OUT OF THE CHARTER.
AND IT'S HIGHLIGHTED ON THE SCREEN BECAUSE THIS IS WHERE Y'ALL COME IN.
UM, AND THIS IS WHERE YOUR INPUT REALLY, REALLY, UM, I THINK IS THE MEAT OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN ALL OF THESE FORUMS. SO LATER THIS YEAR, THE CITIZENS OF THE COMMISSION WILL HAVE ON THE COMMISSION WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE 2020 CENSUS DATA.
ACTUALLY, THIS IS JUST IN A MATTER OF, OF DAYS OR MAYBE A WEEK OR SO.
UM, THE COMMISSIONERS WILL USE THIS DATA AND PUBLIC INPUT TO DECIDE HOW TO DRAW THE NEW DISTRICT BOUNDARIES AND BEST REFLECT AUSTIN MANY CHANGES.
SO AS YOU SAW ON THAT LAST SLIDE, EACH DISTRICT SHOULD HAVE A REASONABLY EQUAL POPULATION WITH OTHER DISTRICTS.
THE STANDARD IS AS CLOSE TO 0% DEVIATION FROM EQUAL, UM, AS POSSIBLE.
SO IN 2010, THE POPULATION WAS 790,390.
SO THE IDEAL POPULATION PER CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT AT THE TIME WAS 79,000.
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE ON THIS SCREEN HERE.
SO PRETTY RIGHT ON THE NOSE THERE, UM, FOR THIS DISTRICT ON THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, ON THIS, YOU CAN SEE THE RAPID AND PRECIPITOUS GROWTH IN AUSTIN'S POPULATION THROUGH THE YEARS, ESPECIALLY NOTE AGAIN, THE 2010 TO 2020 DIFFERENCE.
SO THE ESTIMATE FOR LAST YEAR, UM, WAS 995,484 PEOPLE.
THAT'S ABOUT A 25% INCREASE IN 10 YEARS.
THE IDEAL CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT SIZE WOULD BE APPROXIMATELY 99,500.
TODAY WE WILL HAVE TO DRAW THE DISTRICTS AND A PORTION BASED ON THE DATA FROM THE 2020 CENSUS, EVEN THOUGH OUR POPULATION HAS CERTAINLY SURPASSED A MILLION PEOPLE BY NOW, AS WE SAW EARLIER, OR AUSTIN HAS GROWN BY OVER 200,000 PEOPLE SINCE 2010, THIS MAP, AND THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT MAP HERE SHOWS THAT THE GROWTH IS CONCENTRATED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY.
SO IN SOME CASES, AREAS OF AUSTIN LOST POPULATION, OR THEY REMAIN THE SAME.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE LIGHTER COLORS, AND THEN OTHERS GREW BY MORE THAN 3000 RESIDENTS AS SEEN IN THE DARKER BLUE, THIS UNEQUAL GROWTH MEANS THAT DISTRICT BOUNDARIES WILL CHANGE.
AND I WILL QUICKLY NOTE, UM, SINCE WE'VE HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE ASK, WHERE CAN I GET THIS GRAPH? UM, ALL OF THIS IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ON OUR SITE AND THIS IS ALSO PUBLISHED BY THE CITY.
SO YOU CAN FIND IT, UM, IN SEVERAL PLACES IN THE CITY AS WELL.
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OKAY.SO LET'S TALK ABOUT OUR RACE AND ETHNICITY COMPOSITION.
UM, SO IN AUSTIN WE ARE, UM, PRETTY WHITE POPULATION THAT IDENTIFIES AS WHITE IS ABOUT 49%.
WE HAVE ABOUT 8% THAT IDENTIFY AS ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER, WHICH IS HIGHER THAN THE SHARE OF THE STATE POPULATION.
A LITTLE MORE THAN 7% OF OUR POPULATION IDENTIFY AS BLACK, WHICH IS LOWER THAN THE SHARE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AS A WHOLE STATEWIDE.
THE BLACK POPULATION IS 11% AND THE ASIAN POPULATION IS AT 5%.
AND WE HAVE CLOSE TO 3% THAT IDENTIFY WITH TWO OR MORE RACES AND SMALLER SHARES IDENTIFYING AS AMERICAN, INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE.
THE RACE ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF THE CITY IS DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF THE STATE.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CONTRIBUTION OF EACH OF THESE RACIAL, ETHNIC GROUPS TO THE TOTAL CHANGE IN THE DECADE, WE CAN SEE THAT THE BIGGEST DRIVER IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ACTUALLY BEEN THE NON-HISPANIC WHITE POPULATION HERE IN AUSTIN.
IT'S CLOSE TO 50% OF THE CHANGE, THE TOTAL CHANGE.
AND THIS SETS US APART FROM THE REST OF TEXAS, WHERE THE WHITE POPULATION IS CONTRIBUTING ONLY ABOUT 13% OF THE TOTAL CHANGE WHILE 53% OF THE CHANGES DRIVEN BY LATINOS ACROSS THE DECADE.
SO THE TEXAS LATINO POPULATION IS AT 40% WHILE THE NON-HISPANIC WHITE POPULATION IS AT 42.
SO YOU CAN KIND OF SEE THE DIFFERENCE THERE BETWEEN AUSTIN AND THE WHOLE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND I WANT TO QUICKLY NOTE, UM, WE ARE ABSOLUTELY AWARE OF THE WAY THAT BLACK AND LATINO COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN PUSHED TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY, UM, FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, INCLUDING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.
SO WE ARE ABOUT TO RECEIVE THE 2020 CENSUS DATA AND IT IS LATER THAN, THAN IS TYPICAL.
UM, SO I'LL SAY REALLY QUICK, THE CITY CHARTER SET THIS DEADLINE OF NOVEMBER 1ST THAT VICE-CHAIR GONZALEZ MENTIONED, AND THIS IS FOR OUR FINAL REDISTRICTING PLAN, THE FINAL MAPS TO BE ADOPTED ON THAT DATE.
THIS IS A TIGHT TURNAROUND CONSIDERING THAT WE CANNOT FORMALLY START THE PROCESS UNTIL WE HAVE RECEIVED THE CENSUS DATA, THE MAPPING PROCESS.
THAT IS SO AS YOU SAW EARLIER, BETWEEN WHEN WE RECEIVE THE RAW DATA FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU, AND THIS IS ON AUGUST 12TH, WHICH WAS BUMPED UP A FEW DAYS FROM, UH, PREVIOUSLY NOTED.
UM, SO BETWEEN THEN AND THE NOVEMBER 1ST DEADLINE, WE WILL NEED TO DRAW A PRELIMINARY MAPS.
THAT'S COMING UP NEXT AND THEN PRESENT THOSE MAPS TO THE PUBLIC IN EACH TRAVIS COUNTY PRECINCT.
THAT'S FOUR OF THEM TAKE PUBLIC INPUT AND EACH REVISE THE MAPS USING THAT PUBLIC INPUT, AND THEN PRESENT FINAL MAPS, TWO MORE TIMES NORTH AND SOUTH OF THE RIVER AND TAKE PUBLIC INPUT AGAIN.
AND THEN WE CAN ADOPT THE FINAL PLAN.
THIS GIVES US JUST OVER TWO MONTHS TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS, A SIMILAR TIMELINE TO THE PREVIOUS COMMISSION THAT DREW OUR CURRENT CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
AGAIN, WE INVITE PUBLIC INPUT AT EVERY POINT IN THE PROCESS.
SO WE ARE GOING TO DO, UM, IT SAYS GROUP ACTIVITY, BUT THIS WILL BE AN INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITY GIVEN COVID.
WE WANT TO KEEP EVERYBODY AS SEPARATE AS POSSIBLE, BUT YOU HAVE MAPS IN YOUR HANDS AND VICE-CHAIR GONZALEZ WILL EXPLAIN HOW TO WORK WITH THOSE MAPS.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHAIR, UPON ARRIVING IN THE FRONT DOOR, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED A MAP WORKSHEET PACKAGE ON ONE SHEET.
YOU'LL SEE A MAP SOLELY OF DISTRICT TWO.
ON THE OTHER SHEET, THERE IS THE CURRENT CITY COUNCIL, UH, THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL MAP.
AND WE WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT MAP JUST IN CASE YOU WERE JOINING US THIS EVENING AND YOU WERE NOT A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT TWO, OR IF YOU MIGHT WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT, UM, ON YOUR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT OR YOUR FAVORITE PARK, SHOULD THEY BE OUTSIDE OF THIS DISTRICT? WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE EXAMINE THOSE MAPS, UM, EXAMINE THE MAPS, IDENTIFY ANY COMMON PLACES OF INTEREST, A COMMON AREAS OF INTEREST.
THESE COULD BE YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS, YOUR SCHOOLS, YOUR FAVORITE GROCERY STORE, AGAIN, WHERE YOU MIGHT GO TO THE DOCTOR, PLEASE MARK THESE AREAS ON YOUR MAP WITH A DOT OR A STAR, AND THEN DRAW A CIRCLE AROUND THOSE UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUR DISTRICT THAT YOU BELIEVE SHOULD REMAIN INTACT.
AS WE BEGAN, OUR REJOIN WORK ON THE BACK OF EACH OF THESE MAPS IS PLENTY OF EMPTY SPACE.
UM, WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE LEAVE WRITTEN COMMENTS, UH, SHARE SOME DETAILS ON WHY THOSE DOTS OR STARS THAT YOU MARKED ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU.
IF YOU PREFER TO WRITE YOUR COMMENTS IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH, PLEASE DO.
AND BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE FORUM THIS EVENING, PLEASE BE SURE TO RETURN THESE WORKSHEETS TO THE REGISTRATION WELCOME DESK AT THE FRONT.
THESE DOCUMENTS WILL BE SAVED.
THEY BECOME PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR THE PURPOSE OF REJOIN MAPS.
ONCE WE GET THE 2020 CENSUS DATA, THESE ARE JUST SOME NOTES, AGAIN OF COMMON AREAS OF INTEREST.
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NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS, PARKS, AND WE'RE DOING THIS QUOTE UNQUOTE MAP HOMEWORK, UH, BECAUSE WE ARE FOCUSING ON ICI C CHART, ICRC CHARTER PRIORITY, NUMBER FOUR.UM, AND AGAIN, THAT WAS TO KEEP THE INTEGRITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS, INTACT NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES INTACT YOUR PUBLIC TESTIMONY, AND YOUR WORKSHEETS WILL, UM, HELP US, UH, GIVE THE COMMISSIONERS A BETTER SNAPSHOT OF WHAT MATTERS TO VOTERS, TO RESIDENTS AND TO THE COMMUNITIES OF DISTRICT TWO.
THIS ACTIVITY WILL GIVE COMMISSIONERS THE UNDERLINING UNMEASURABLE VARIABLES THAT WILL HELP US KEEP THE GEOGRAPHICAL INTEGRITY OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS WHILE WE ARE REDISTRICTING.
WHILE YOU'RE DOING THAT, EXERCISE WILL PROBABLY ALLOW 20, 25 MINUTES OR SO.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO LEAVE THESE QUESTIONS, UH, FOR CONSIDERATION ON THE SCREEN.
AND AGAIN, THEY TOUCH ON WHAT THESE COMMON AREAS OF INTEREST IN YOUR COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS MAY BE.
THESE MAPS ARE ALSO, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR FOLKS WHO MAY BE TUNING INTO ATX SANTA A LATER DATE, THESE MAPS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.
ALL YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO IS GOOGLE ICRC, AUSTIN, THE TOP, UH, SEARCH LINK ON, ON WHEN YOU TYPE IN THAT SEARCH ENGINE, UM, WILL BE OUR ICRC PAGE ON THE CITY WEBSITE.
UNDER EACH MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT, THEY WILL BE WORKSHEETS MARKED PER DISTRICT.
SO THIS ONE WOULD BE MARKED D TWO.
YOU COULD DOWNLOAD THAT MAP ONTO YOUR COMPUTER, UH, FILL IT OUT AND YOU CAN EMAIL IT TO US AT ICRC DOT COMMISSIONERS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
YOU CAN EVEN MAIL IT TO US, A PHYSICAL MAILING ADDRESS.
I BELIEVE IT'S PO BOX 1 0 8, 8.
UM, I WOULD NEED TO GET THE ZIP CODE.
I KNOW WE HAVE THAT IN A SLIDE UP HERE.
UM, UH, BUT, UH, AGAIN, JUST OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO RECEIVE PUBLIC INPUT IN ADDITION TO THE FORM THAT YOU'RE AT TODAY.
SO WE'RE GONNA ALLOW ABOUT 20 MINUTES TO COMPLETE THESE WORKSHEETS AND THEN WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.
CHRISTINE, MIGHT WE HAVE ANYONE THAT HAS SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY TODAY? ONE.
YOU MIND COMING TO EXPLAIN THE PROCESS FOR US?
DON'T FORGET TO RETURN THOSE, UM, AT THE WELCOME DESK BEFORE YOU LEAVE.
A LOT OF DIFFERENT TIMERS GOING ON THAT NOTE.
I'M GOING TO CALL YOU UP IN THE ORDER THAT YOU SIGNED IN AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK.
IF YOU WILL KEEP YOUR COMMENTS AS THEY PERTAIN TO MAPPING AND REDISTRICTING.
AND AT THE TWO MINUTE 32ND, MARK, I'M GOING TO STAND UP TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOUR TIME IS ALMOST AN EXPIRE.
AND AT THE THREE MINUTE MARK, I'M GOING TO SAY YOU'RE AT TIME.
AND THE FIRST AND ONLY PERSON SCHEDULED TO SPEAK IS PECK YOUNG.
WOULD ANYBODY ELSE LIKE TO SPEAK TO THE COMMISSIONERS? OKAY.
WELL THAT CONCLUDES OUR SPEAKING PORTION OF THE FORM.
AND WE UNDERSTAND, I MEAN, PUBLIC SPEAKING, I'M GETTING USED TO IT MYSELF.
THE MAPS ARE ANOTHER WAY FOR US TO GAIN, UH, PUBLIC INPUT.
YOU CAN ALSO EMAIL THE COMMISSIONERS AGAIN AT ICRC DOT COMMISSIONERS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
WE HAVE LOSING TRACK OF ALL THE WAYS THAT YOU CAN GIVE US THE PUBLIC INPUT.
AUSTIN.ORG IS ANOTHER WEBSITE OF OURS.
IF YOU GO TO SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG, YOU WILL FIND ALL OF THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMISSION, OUR EVENTS, THE DATES, THE TIMES.
THERE'S ALSO A GREAT TOOL THERE NOW WHERE YOU COULD SUBMIT A SURVEY WITH A FEW OF THE SIMILAR QUESTIONS THAT YOU SEE ON THESE MAP WORKSHEETS.
YOU CAN ALSO SUBMIT US YOUR OWN VERSION OF A MAP.
UM, WE WILL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE BEGIN OUR WORK CHAIR.
ALL RIGHT, WE ARE WRAPPING IT UP HERE VERY QUICKLY.
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WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU OUR UPCOMING PUBLIC FORUMS THAT WE DO HAVE SCHEDULED.WE WILL HAVE MORE SCHEDULED IN SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, SO STAY TUNED FOR THOSE, BUT FOR THE TIME BEING IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST, WE HAVE A FORUM IN DISTRICT ONE, AND THAT IS THIS SATURDAY AT THE GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER MUSEUM.
SO A VIRTUAL OPTION FOR DISTRICT FIVE, AND THAT IS TUESDAY, AUGUST 17TH.
AND THEN THERE ARE TWO ADDITIONAL VIRTUAL FORUMS THAT ARE JUST, CITY-WIDE NOT DISTRICT FOCUSED.
AND THOSE ARE OVER HERE ON THE RIGHT.
SO THAT IS A SATURDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 10 TO 12.
AND THEN THE SECOND ONE IS FRIDAY, AUGUST 27TH, 11 TO ONE, BOTH ON ZOOM.
YOU JUST HAVE TO REGISTER TO, UH, ENTER THE MEETING.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVERYONE FOR COMING TONIGHT, WE'RE ENDING SUPER EARLY.
AND SO YOU CAN GO AND GET YOUR HOUR BACK AND ENJOY YOUR EVENING.
UM, AND AS VICE-CHAIR GONZALEZ SAID, THIS IS OUR EMAIL ADDRESS.
AND THIS REACHES ALL 14 OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
IF YOU WANT TO SAY SOMETHING TO ALL OF US, THAT IS WHERE YOU CAN REACH US.
THANK YOU AND HAVE A GREAT NIGHT.