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[Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission Public Forum #1]
YOU FOR JOINING US, OFFERING UP THIS BEAUTIFUL SATURDAY MORNING TO BE WITH THE ICRC, TO DISCUSS THE ISSUE OF REDISTRICTING AND ITS IMPACT ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN.MY NAME IS CHRISTINA
UM, AND I WILL BE GOING THROUGH OUR PR PRESENTATION AND OUR AGENDA THIS MORNING.
UM, IF YOU'VE BEEN WITH US BEFORE, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF THIS IS SIMILAR, BUT WE HAVE A LITTLE, UM, A FEW UPDATES FOR YOU REGARDING THE 2020 CENSUS DATA AS, UM, AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION.
SO I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING AS WE'VE SHIFTED THESE PLANS IN OUR FORUMS, UM, YOU KNOW, GIVEN THE SEVERITY OF THE ONGOING PANDEMIC, UM, AND WE'VE JUST BEEN WORKING TO FIND THAT BALANCE BETWEEN FAIR ACCESS, UM, TO OUR PROCESS AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH FOR THE CITY.
SO I WILL SHARE WITH YOU OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY ON THIS SLIDE, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE SOME LINKS TO ALL OF OUR WEBSITES.
SO YOU CAN REACH US AT SPEAKUP AUSTIN REDISTRICT, HEX DOT, OR, OR YOU CAN GO TO THE CITY SITE TO FIND ALL OF OUR DOCUMENTS AND YOU KNOW WHAT, WHEN WE MEET IN OUR AGENDAS AND ALL OF THAT, AND WE'RE GOING TO SHOW YOU THAT A LITTLE LATER ON IN, UM, IN THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, SO WE WILL TALK ABOUT HOW TO SIGN UP FOR TESTIMONY, GIVE A LITTLE BACKGROUND ON THIS COMMISSION, UM, AND HOW IT WAS FORMED.
TALK ABOUT THE CURRENT CITY COUNCIL MAPS, UM, AND OUR DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION, 2010 TO 2020, UM, HISTORY OF 10, ONE, JUST A BIT EXPLANATION OF THE DELAYED CENSUS AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR US, AND THEN INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMISSION'S WORK AND LEAVE FAKE FEEDBACK ON THE MAPS.
EXCUSE ME, SOME HOUSEKEEPING AS WE SHIFT INTO THIS VIRTUAL MEETING SETTING, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION, UM, JUST ENTER YOUR FULL NAME AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS ALONG WITH THE DISTRICT THAT YOU RESIDE IN AND TO THE CHAT FEATURE, UM, THAT IS HERE IN ZOOM.
UH, WE'LL BE USING THE CHAT FEATURE JUST FOR THE PURPOSE OF MONITORING AND CALLING ON THOSE WHO WISH TO GIVE PUBLIC TESTIMONY.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ARE NOT GOING TO BE CAPTURED JUST TO BE CLEAR.
UM, AND QUESTIONS ARE NOT GOING TO BE ANSWERED IN THE CHAT FEATURE.
SO AGAIN, JUST FOR YOU TO SIGN UP TO TESTIFY, UM, PRETTY WRITTEN COMMENTS WE ASK THAT YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, REACH US, UH, AT THE FULL COMMISSION.
AND THIS IS ICRC DOT COMMISSIONERS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
WHEN YOU'RE GIVEN PERMISSION TO SPEAK DURING THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY PORTION OF THIS FORUM, YOU CAN UNMUTE YOURSELF AND THEN COMMUNICATE WITH EVERYONE HERE AND ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU.
HE WILL RECEIVE A NOTIFICATION TO UNMUTE YOURSELF SIMILAR TO THE IMAGE THAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE ON THE SCREEN.
SO I'M GOING TO STOP MY SHARE FOR A MOMENT SO THAT WE CAN SEE ALL OF THE COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE WITH US THIS MORNING.
UM, WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES OF ALL 10 DISTRICTS, SO I WILL STOP MY SHARE HERE.
SO FOR DISTRICT ONE, WE HAVE ERROL HARDEN AND SELENA YE Y'ALL CAN JUST, HEY GUYS, UH, DISTRICT TWO, WE HAVE SET ENS GILBERT ON DISTRICT THREE.
WE HAVE BJ MORRIS AND HONG LIG DISTRICT FOUR.
STERLING LANDS, DISTRICT FIVE PRABHU KANAAN DISTRICT SIX, JEAN SCHNEIDER, DISTRICT SEVEN, CAMILIA, FALCON AND MYSELF, CHRISTINA, WHAT THIS DISTRICT EIGHT JOSH BLANK, DISTRICT NINE, SHAYNA KAMBO AND DISTRICT 10.
WE HAVE OUR VICE CHAIR, LUIS GONZALEZ AND AARON DENSI.
I WILL GO BACK TO SHARING MY SCREEN.
SO BACK IN 20 12, 60 1% OF AUSTIN VOTERS SET THE STANDARD FOR AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT MAPPING OF DISTRICTS.
THE VOTE APPROVED, REPLACING THE CITIES AT LARGE CITY COUNCIL SYSTEM THAT LACKED GEOGRAPHIC AND RACIAL REPRESENTATION.
AND WE HAVE A TEN ONE SYSTEM, UM, INSTEAD CONSISTING OF 10 SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICTS.
PLUS THE MAYOR, THIS VOTE DRAMATICALLY CHANGED THE CITY'S ELECTION SYSTEM AND PROVIDED A MODEL FOR CITIES NATIONWIDE.
THE 10 DISTRICTS THAT WE KNOW TODAY WERE DRAWN BY THE INDEPENDENT CITIZENS REDISTRICTING
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COMMISSION OF 2013.AND SO HISTORY WAS MADE BACK IN 2013 WHEN AUSTIN BECAME THE FIRST CITY IN THE COUNTRY TO HAVE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS DRAWN THROUGH THE VOLUNTEERISM OF A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT GROUP OF RESIDENTS.
SO ALL OF THE MEMBERS HERE ON THE ICRC WERE NOT SELECTED BY ANY POLITICIAN, THE WAY THAT OTHER REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS MAY OPERATE.
WE'RE ALL AUSTINITES WHO CARE ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS AND HOW IT'S MANAGED.
AND SOME OF US HAVE FULL-TIME JOBS.
OTHERS ARE STUDENTS, OTHERS HAVE FAMILIES, BUT WE'RE ALL VOLUNTEERS WHO APPLIED TO BE ON THIS COMMISSION, NOT APPOINTED THIS BODY BEFORE YOU IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR PRODUCING THE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT MAP.
THAT WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR THE 2022 ELECTIONS AND FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
SO THAT'S NOT THE CITY COUNCIL, NOT THE MAYOR, THE CITY MANAGER, NOR THE STATE IT'S COMING FROM THE ICRC AND WE'RE INDEPENDENT CAPITAL LIFE.
THIS IS A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW THE ICRC FORM TWO BACKGROUND AND SELECTION PROCESS.
UM, THIS, FOR THIS ROUND WE HAD OVER 300 APPLICATIONS RECEIVED, UM, OVER 89% OF THOSE MET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS SUCH AS HAVING LIVED AND VOTED IN AUSTIN FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS, UM, AND WERE IDENTIFIED AS NOT HAVING ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
UM, THERE WAS AN APPLICANT REVIEW PANEL MADE UP OF THREE CPAS THAT THEN SELECTED THE 60 MOST QUALIFIED COMMISSION APPLICANTS, CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE RANDOMLY SELECTED EIGHT COMMISSIONERS FROM THAT QUALIFIED POOL.
THOSE EIGHT COMMISSIONERS CHOSE SIX ADDITIONAL APPLICANTS FROM THE QUALIFIED POOL TO ENSURE THAT THE COMMISSION REFLECTED THE DIVERSITY OF AUSTIN.
AND THEN THAT WORK LED US TO OUR FINAL NUMBER OF 14 COMMISSIONERS ON THE SPINE.
SO AGAIN, WE WANTED TO ENSURE THE COMMISSION REFLECTED THE DIVERSITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WHILE WE PRIMARILY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DISTRICTS ARE REPRESENTED, ALL DISTRICTS REPRESENTED ON THE ICRC, WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, RACIAL, ETHNIC, AND GENDER DIVERSITY, UM, WHICH PLAYED A ROLE IN THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.
THE COMMISSIONERS WANTED OUR BODY TO ACCURATELY REFLECT, UM, ALL OF THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF OUR CITY'S POPULATION, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE WHILE ALSO HAVING NO TIES TO CITY OR STATE POLITICS OR POLITICAL PARTIES, AND HAVING LIVED IN VOTED IN AUSTIN, UM, ALL ACCORDING TO THE CHARTER, AGAIN, INDEPENDENT WITH A CAPITAL.
SO WHAT DO WE DO, UM, ON THIS COMMISSION, WE WILL DECIDE ON THE NEW BOUNDARIES FOR OUR CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS THROUGH AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROCESS WITH MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC INPUT.
AND THE FORM YOU'RE ATTENDING RIGHT NOW IS PART OF THAT FIRST SERIES OF PUBLIC INPUT.
SO IN ORDER TO DRAW THE DISTRICT BOUNDARIES, WE WILL NEED TO HEAR FROM RESIDENTS THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, WHICH INVOLVES HOLDING PUBLIC FORUMS IN EACH OF THE 10 CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, WHICH WE HAVE DONE THIS ONE.
AND THE ONE WE HAVE NEXT WEEK ARE IN ADDITION TO THAT, THE FIRST 10 PRIOR TO DRAWING THE PRELIMINARY MAPS.
UM, AND AFTER WE DRAW THOSE INITIAL MAPS, WE WILL HOLD FOUR MORE PUBLIC MEETINGS IN EACH OF THE TRANS COUNTY PRECINCTS.
UM, THEN GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AND PROPOSING FINAL BOUNDARIES.
WE'LL PRESENT THOSE FINAL MAPS TO, UH, TWO MORE TIMES TO THE PUBLIC, UM, ONE MEETING NORTH OF LADYBIRD LAKE ONE SOUTH, AND THEN WE'LL VOTE ON THE FINAL BOUNDARIES AND ADOPT A PLAN BY NOVEMBER 1ST OF THIS YEAR.
SO THE HIGHLIGHTED POINT HERE, THIS IS WHY WE'RE HERE TODAY.
AGAIN, JUST THE FIRST PHASE OF PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE MAPPING PROCESS.
SO OUR REDISTRICTING PROCESS MATTERS BECAUSE IT'S DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO YOUR FAIR, INCLUDING FOR HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES ON THE CITY COUNCIL.
THIS WAY YOU CAN VOTE WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS FOR A COUNCIL MEMBER WHO WILL REPRESENT PEOPLE WITH COMMON NEEDS AND INTERESTS, AND WHO INVITE YOUR VOICE AT CITY HALL.
ADDITIONALLY, 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 PURPOSE OF POLITICIANS TO GET REELECTED RATHER THAN TO ENSURE FAIR REPRESENTATION AND INCREASE DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION.
BACK IN 2015, THE SUPREME COURT AFFIRMED THAT VOTERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO ESTABLISH INDEPENDENT CITIZENS, REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS, AND AT A TIME WHEN POLITICIANS ELICIT DISTRUST CITIZEN REDISTRICTING, AND PROVIDE A TRANSPARENT AND TRANSFORMING ALTERNATIVE TO POLITICS AS USUAL, AND THIS MOVEMENT INVITES THE INVOLVEMENT OF ALL AUSTIN RESIDENTS.
OUR WORK CANNOT HAPPEN WITHOUT PUBLIC FORUMS LIKE THIS ONE.
AND WE THOUGHT YOU HERE TODAY.
IS THE MAP OF OUR CURRENT DISTRICT BOUNDARIES THAT BACK IN NOVEMBER
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OF 2013, THE 2013 INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING OF ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES, WAS IT GRASSROOTS FROM THE GROUND UP INITIATIVE? AND THE 2021 COMMISSIONERS ARE FOLLOWING SUIT BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT REPRESENTATION IS THE BACKBONE OF THE WORK.TO SECTION THREE E OF THE CITY CHARTER, THE COMMISSIONERS MUST DRAW EACH DISTRICTS BOUNDARIES USING THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA.
THIS IS AN ORDER OF PRIORITY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.
MOST OF OUR GUIDELINES ARE PRETTY CUT AND DRY.
WE HAVE TO REASONABLY CREATE AN EQUAL POPULATION IN EACH CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
WE MUST COMPLY WITH THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
DISTRICTS MUST BE GEOGRAPHICALLY CONTIGUOUS.
AND FINALLY, WHAT I WANT TO POINT OUT IS WHAT'S HIGHLIGHTED ON NUMBER FOUR, 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.
YOU KNOW, IN OTHER WORDS, WE'RE LOOKING OUT FOR THE SHAPES OF YOUR COMMUNITIES, AND THIS IS WHY YOU'RE HERE TODAY.
IN A MATTER OF DAYS OR WEEKS, THE ICRC WILL HAVE ACCESS TO USABLE 2020 CENSUS DATA SO THAT WE CAN BEGIN THE MAPPING PROCESS AND THE COMMISSIONERS ALONGSIDE OUR MAPPING AND REDISTRICTING SPECIALIST, GEORGE CORVEL, WE'LL USE THIS DATA AND PUBLIC INPUT TO DECIDE HOW TO DRAW THE NEW DISTRICT BOUNDARIES AND BEST REFLECT AUSTIN'S CHANGES.
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 SIZES AS POSSIBLE.
IN 2010, THE POPULATION WAS 790,390 PEOPLE.
SO AT THAT TIME, THE IDEAL POPULATION PER CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT WAS 79,000, THE LARGEST DISTRICT LAST TIME, OR RATHER, YOU KNOW, CURRENTLY, UM, THE WAY THE DISTRICTS ARE DRAWN UP IS DISTRICT SIX.
AND THE SMALLEST DISTRICT WAS DISTRICT ONE.
AS YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THIS GRAPH, OKAY, YOU SEE THE RAPID AND PRECIPITOUS GROWTH IN AUSTIN'S POPULATION THROUGH THE YEARS, ACCORDING TO THE 2020 CENSUS DATA JUST RELEASED ON AUGUST 12TH AUSTIN'S POPULATION LAST YEAR WAS 961,855.
THAT'S ABOUT A 21% INCREASE SINCE 2010 OR ABOUT 172,000 PEOPLE.
SO BECAUSE THERE ARE 10 CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, THE IDEAL DISTRICT SIZE WILL BE ABOUT A 10TH, THE TOTAL POPULATION, OR APPROXIMATELY 96,185.
WE WILL HAVE TO DRAW THE DISTRICTS AND A PORTION BASED ON THE DATA FROM THE 2020 CENSUS, EVEN THOUGH AUSTIN'S POPULATION HAS LIKELY SURPASSED A MILLION PEOPLE BY NOW, OKAY.
THIS DATA IS FROM THE CITY COMPARING DEMOGRAPHICS FROM 2010 TO 2020.
UH, WE JUST GOT THIS IN FROM THE CITY DEMOGRAPHER A FEW DAYS AGO.
SO OUT OF THE 2020 CENSUS DATA, WE SEE THAT THE POPULATION THAT IDENTIFIES AS WHITE AND AUSTIN IS AT 47.1%.
WELL, 32.5% IDENTIFY AS LATINO.
BOTH OF THESE PERCENTAGES SHRUNK FROM 2010, WE HAVE ABOUT 9% THAT IDENTIFY AS ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER, WHICH IS UP FROM 10 YEARS AGO, JUST UNDER 7% OF AUSTIN'S POPULATION IDENTIFY AS BLACK, WHICH IS LOWER THAN THE SHARE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AS A WHOLE STATEWIDE.
THE BLACK POPULATION IS ALMOST 12% WHILE THE ASIAN POPULATION IS AT 5.4%.
THE SHARE OF OUR POPULATION THAT IDENTIFIES AS SOME OTHER RACE OR TWO OR MORE RACES HAS GROWN BY 234% AND 172% PERSPECTIVELY.
SO I ALREADY, YOU MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT OF THE DATA FROM THIS TABLE ON THE LAST SLIDE.
I'LL POINT OUT A FEW OTHER THINGS HERE.
UM, SO THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND THE STATE POPULATION GROWTH WAS DRIVEN BY POPULATIONS OF COLOR.
HOWEVER, THE RACE ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF THE STATE.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE CONTRIBUTION OF EACH OF THESE RACIAL, ETHNIC GROUPS TO THE TOTAL CHANGE IN A DECADE, WE SEE THAT THE BIGGEST DRIVER IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN THE NON-HISPANIC WHITE POPULATION HERE IN AUSTIN.
YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S ABOUT 40% OF THE TOTAL CHANGE.
HISPANICS MADE UP ONLY ABOUT 20% OF GROWTH, UM, RIGHT HERE AT THE TOP.
AND THAT IS, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST DECADE COMPARED WITH ABOUT 50% AT THE NATIONAL AND STATE LEVELS.
AND THIS SETS US APART FROM THE REST OF TEXAS,
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ACCORDING TO THE LATEST CENSUS DATA, NON-HISPANIC WHITE TEXANS HAVE SHRUNK TO 39.8% OF THE STATE'S POPULATION WITH ONLY A 1.6% INCREASE SINCE 2010.WHILE THE SHARE OF HISPANIC TEXANS HAS GROWN TO 39.3% AT AN OVER 20% INCREASE IN THE SAME PERIOD.
MEANWHILE, THE COUNTRY EXPERIENCED A DECLINE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 230 YEARS IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IDENTIFYING AS NON-HISPANIC WHITE, THE ASIAN POPULATION WAS THE FASTEST GROWING SINGLE RACE GROUP OVER ONE OF EVERY FIVE PEOPLE ADDED TO THE AUSTIN POPULATION IN THE LAST DECADE WAS OF ASIAN DESCENT.
ANOTHER FAST GROWING RACE, ETHNICITY GROUP WAS THE MULTIRACIAL OR TWO OR MORE RACIST POPULATION, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER.
AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF THIS GROWTH COULD BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE CHANGES IN CODING MADE BY THE CENSUS BUREAU.
THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION ALSO GREW THIS DECADE, BUT AT A SLOWER RATE.
AND THIS COMPARES WITH, UM, STRONG MIGRATION BY AFRICAN AMERICANS TO CITIES IN THE SOUTH, INCLUDING DALLAS AND HOUSTON.
AND WE ARE AWARE OF THE WAY THAT BLACK AND LATINO COMMUNITIES HAVE BEEN PUSHED TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF AUSTIN FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, INCLUDING HOUSING AFFORDABILITY.
WHY WAS THAT THE 2020 CENSUS DATA DELAYED? WELL, DESPITE THE GREAT EFFORTS MADE JOINTLY BY THE CITY COUNTY AND VARIOUS COMMUNITY GROUPS TO GET AN ACCURATE CENSUS COUNT, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE'S LIKELY AN UNDERCOUNT, RIGHT? UM, BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW SINCE, UM, ART, HAVING AN EXACT COUNT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR FEDERAL FUNDING OVER THE NEXT 10 YEARS.
AND OF COURSE IT MATTERS FOR THE REASON WE'RE HERE TODAY, POLITICAL REPRESENTATION AS WE DRAW UP THESE COUNCIL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES.
SO, UM, I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT FACT, UM, AND WE ARE AWARE OF THAT AGAIN, THE CITY CHARTER SET A DEADLINE OF NOVEMBER 1ST FOR THE FINAL REDISTRICTING PLAN TO BE ADOPTED, UH, JUST TO REITERATE.
SO BETWEEN NOW AND NOVEMBER 1ST, WE WILL DRAW PRELIMINARY MAPS, PRESENT THEM TO THE PUBLIC IN EACH TRAVIS COUNTY PRECINCT, TAKE PUBLIC AND PUT AND REVISE THE MAPS, PRESENT THE FINAL MAPS.
TWO MORE TIMES, TAKE PUBLIC INPUT AND THEN ADOPT A FINAL PLAN.
THIS GIVES US ABOUT TWO MONTHS TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS, A SIMILAR TIMELINE TO THE PREVIOUS COMMISSION THAT DREW THE CURRENT DISTRICTS AND WE INVITE PUBLIC INPUT AT EVERY POINT IN THE PROCESS.
OKAY, THIS IS THE LAST CALL TO SIGN UP TO TESTIFY.
SO IF YOU JUST JOINED US A LITTLE LATE HERE, I'LL GO OVER THIS BRIEFLY.
UM, PUT YOUR LEFT FIRST, LAST NAME AND THE CHAT, EMAIL ADDRESS, UM, DISTRICTS YOU'VE RESIDED, AND, UH, OUR ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER, CHRISTINE GRANADOS WILL CALL ON YOU IN THE ORDER THAT SHE SAW YOUR NAME'S COME INTO THE CHAT.
UM, JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO UNMUTE YOURSELF AS YOU CAN SEE HERE ON THE SCREEN, UH, WHEN YOU ARE CALLED ON.
AND IF YOU WANT TO SEND US ANY WRITTEN COMMENTS AGAIN, THE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR THAT IS ICRC DOT COMMISSIONERS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
UM, I'M GOING TO HAVE CHRISTINE GRANADA'S JUMP IN HERE AND, UM, TELL US HOW TO FIND DOCUMENTS FOR ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED THIS MORNING.
AND, UM, JUST KNOWING A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING BEHIND THE SCENES.
AND I WILL SHARE MY SCREEN, UM, WITH MY WEB BROWSER.
SO WE CAN KIND OF TALK YOU THROUGH HOW TO GET TO THOSE DOCUMENTS.
CHRISTINA WENT AS, SO IN ADDITION TO HER POTENTIAL TESTIMONY THIS EVENING AND WRITTEN COMMENTS VIA EMAIL, WE'D LIKE TO TAKE SOME TIME TO POINT ATTENDEES TO SOME OTHER OPTIONS FOR PUBLIC INPUT.
BUT FIRST WE WANT TO SHOW YOU WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT CITIZEN REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.
SO IN A WEB BROWSER, WHETHER IT'S GOOGLE, DUCK, DUCK GO OR YAHOO TYPE IN AUSTIN, ICRC C AND THE TOP RESULT SHOULD BE THE ICRC PAGE ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.
IF YOU'LL CLICK ON THE LINK AND AFTER IT LOADS, YOU'LL SCROLL, SCROLL DOWN TO THAT BROWN ICON ON THE LEFT SIDE, THAT READS VIEW MEETING DOCUMENTS, CLICK ON THE ICON.
AND AFTER THAT PAGE LOADS, YOU CAN SCROLL DOWN AND VIEW ALL KINDS OF THINGS LIKE ICRC MEETING DOCUMENTS, AGENDAS FROM ALL MEETINGS, INCLUDING THESE PUBLIC FORUMS, VIDEOS OF PAST MEETINGS IN PUBLIC FORUMS, IN ENGLISH AND IN SPANISH AND SOON ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS
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FROM THESE PUBLIC FORUMS WILL BE UPLOADED ON THIS SITE AS WELL.THE ICRC FEEDBACK IS THROUGH ANOTHER WEBSITE CALLED SPEAK UP AUSTIN.
SO WE'RE GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH THESE STEPS TOO.
SO IN YOUR WEB BROWSER TYPE IN SPEAK UP AUSTIN, AND IT SHOULD BE THE FIRST LINK ON THE WEB SEARCH.
SO YOU CLICK ON THE LINK AND YOU'LL BE DIRECTED TO THE HOMEPAGE TO A HOME PAGE THAT READS WELCOME TO SPEAK UP AUSTIN, AND THEN SCROLL DOWN TO THAT BLUE BOX THAT YOU SEE THERE.
AND OVERLAID ON THAT BLUE BOX IS A WHITE RECTANGLE, AND IT SAYS SHAPE AUSTIN'S FUTURE INDEPENDENT CITIZEN, REDISTRICTING COMMISSION.
IF YOU'LL CLICK ON VIEW PROJECT, THIS MIGHT TAKE A MINUTE TO LOAD.
YOU'LL SCROLL DOWN TO THE TAB SECTION HERE.
YOU'LL FIND MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ICRC AND YOU SCROLL DOWN TO THE TAB SECTION AND LOCATE THE EVENT, FEEDBACK TAB, AND CLICK ON THAT.
AND YOU'LL SEE A LINK THAT READS YOUR SUGGESTIONS FOR REDISTRICTING, AND YOU'LL BE PROMPTED TO SIGN IN OR REGISTER, WHICH WILL GIVE YOU ACCESS TO A SURVEY THIS SURVEY, AND YOU CAN FILL OUT THIS SURVEY.
YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR OWN MAP OR ANY DOCUMENTS YOU'D LIKE THAT COMMISSIONERS TO SEE
SO THAT'D BE A GREAT WAY TO CONTACT US, TO INTERACT WITH US AND REACH OUT TO US.
OKAY, SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE QUESTIONS ON THE SURVEY, SPEAK UP AUSTIN, AND THESE ARE ALSO GOOD QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER IF YOU'RE GIVING PUBLIC TESTIMONY HERE TODAY, UM, THEY ALL PERTAIN TO OUR CHARTER MANDATE, NUMBER FOUR, MAINTAINING THE GRAPHIC INTEGRITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS OR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
SO I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A FEW MOMENTS JUST TO READ THROUGH SOME OF THESE, AND THEY MIGHT HELP WITH YOUR PUBLIC TESTIMONY.
THESE ARE THE KIND OF QUESTIONS THE COMMISSIONERS ARE, ARE LOOKING TO ANSWER AND SELENA YE COMMISSIONER YE HAS POSTED SOME OF THE LINKS TO THESE WEBSITES ON THE CHAT FOR EVERYONE.
SO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY PORTION OF THE FORUM.
UM, BEFORE WE DO, I'M GOING TO JUST GIVE A FEW RULES.
ALL INDIVIDUALS WISHING TO COMMENT MUST SIGN IN SO FAR, I HAVE TO SIGNED IN TO COMMENT, AND EACH SPEAKER IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES SPEAKING, AND BECAUSE THE COMMISSIONERS ARE INTERESTED IN GATHERING DATA ON YOUR VIEWS OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND MAPS AND REDISTRICTING, THEY WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT UNRELATED TOPICS VIA EMAIL.
SO I WILL CALL ON YOU IN THE ORDER THAT YOU SIGNED IN, OR YOU SIGNED INTO THE CHAT.
AND AGAIN, EVERYONE WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK AND AGAIN, PLEASE MAKE COMMENTS AS THEY PERTAIN TO NEIGHBORHOODS AND REACH REDISTRICTING.
SO WITH THE TWO MINUTE 32ND, MARK, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE E LASHED, THIS YELLOW FOLDER, AND YOU'LL KNOW YOUR TIME IS ABOUT TO EXPIRE.
AND AT THREE MINUTES, I'LL SAY YOU'RE AT TIME.
SO LET'S HEAR FROM THE FIRST SPEAKER, THE FIRST SPEAKER WILL BE PRETTY WE'D.
YOU CAN ADDRESS THE COMMISSION.
I'M IN DISTRICT NINE AND, UM, UH, ONE OF THE ISSUES AND, AND UNFORTUNATELY IT APPEARS THAT ONLY HALF THE COMMISSIONERS
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ARE PRESENT AND THIS, AND IT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE COMMISSIONER FROM DISTRICT NINE, WHICH IS DISAPPOINTING.UH, BUT ANYWAY, UH, THE, YOU KNOW, W WE WERE VERY CONCERNED THAT WE MISSED, UH, THE DISTRICT NINE, UH, MEETING BECAUSE NOBODY WAS INFORMED ABOUT IT IN, UH, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION.
UH, ONE OF YOUR STATE OF PURPOSES IN IS TO KEEP COMMUNITIES INTACT.
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, THE SOUTH RIVER CITY CITIZENS WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1972.
WE'RE GOING TO BE, UH, MARKING OUR 50 YEARS.
WE ARE THE LARGEST, UH, OR, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION IN AUSTIN.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN ACTIVE THROUGHOUT THOSE 50 YEARS IN MANY WAYS, ESTABLISHING A WILDERNESS PRESERVE, UH, AND MANY OTHER, UH, ACTIVITIES.
UM, WE HAVE HAD EVERYTHING FROM CELEBRATING OUR JULY 4TH PARADE FROM ONE END OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO THE OTHER, UH, AND, UH, TO SPEAKING WHERE THE UNITED VOICE ABOUT CITY POLICIES THAT AFFECT US IN 2014, WE WERE ALMOST ENTIRELY PLACED IN DISTRICT NINE.
UNFORTUNATELY, A SECTION WAS, UH, PUT INTO DISTRICT THREE, NOT HAVING MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH, UH, REDISTRICTING WITH, WITH BEING A DISTRICT.
WE DIDN'T REALLY, YOU KNOW, IT WAS NOT A BIG ISSUE UNTIL IT BECAME A BIG ISSUE.
THIS HAS CAUSED PROBLEMS IN OUR ABILITY TO ADDRESS ISSUES BEFORE COUNCIL, BECAUSE YOU SAY THAT YOU WANT TO KEEP THE COMMUNITIES AND TAX.
WE ASK YOU TO KEEP OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, ONE OF THE VERY OLDEST AND MOST ACTIVE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS IN AUSTIN IMPACT IN ONE SINGLE COUNCIL DISTRICT.
UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT WILL ALLOW US TO CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR OUR COMMUNITY BEFORE THE CITY.
UM, AND, UH, BASICALLY, UH, THAT'S IT.
UM, I ALSO HAVE A QUESTION, UM, HOW MANY PARTICIPANTS ARE HERE? I DON'T USUALLY I CAN TELL A NEW WEBINAR, BUT I CAN'T TELL HERE.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE SEVEN ATTENDEES.
THE NEXT PERSON, IF YOU HAVE ANY, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OF ME, I'M FINE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.
THE NEXT PERSON TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION IS MARRIED FRIEDMAN AND DISTRICT NINE.
FIRST OF ALL, I WANTED TO SAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I THINK THAT, UH, YOUR JOB IS A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT ONE.
AND I APPRECIATE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS THIS PROCESS OF AN INDEPENDENT DISTRICTING BOARD, BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE DO THAT, UM, ESPECIALLY IN THIS DAY AND AGE, I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, I'M NOT AS WELL-SPOKEN AS BETTY, WHO'S MY NEIGHBOR, BUT, UM, I ALSO WANT TO EXPRESS THE DESIRE THAT SRC C REMAINED TOGETHER IN ONE DISTRICT.
I'VE LIVED IN AUSTIN FOR A LONG TIME.
AND FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS, I'VE LIVED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
I INTEND TO LIVE HERE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, IF I CAN MANAGE THAT.
AND, UM, UM, I HAVEN'T BEEN, UM, I JUST THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR COMMUNITY, THAT WE STAY TOGETHER, UM, AND BE ABLE TO VOICE OURSELVES AS ONE COMMUNITY BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF COHESION HERE, AND IT INCLUDES WITHIN THE SCHOOLS, WE HAVE A NEIGHBORS ASSOCIATION MEMBERS WHO ARE PARTS INVOLVED WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
AND, UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF THINGS KIND OF CAUSING US TO FEEL SEPARATED.
YOU KNOW, THAT OVERHEAD OVER TIME, I, 35 IS ONE OF THEM THAT'S CUT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF OUR DISTRICT.
AND, UM, SO, AND SO I JUST WOULD REQUEST THAT WE BE STUCK.
WE STAY TOGETHER, SRC, STAY TOGETHER AS ONE DISTRICT, UM, AT ALL POSSIBLE.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. FRIEDMAN, NO ONE ELSE WOULD TO REGISTER TO SPEAK THAT WILL CONCLUDE THE SPEAKING PORTION OF THE FORUM.
I THINK THAT'S ALL OUR SPEAKERS COMMISSIONER CHAIR.
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SURE.SO WE'D LIKE TO INVITE EVERYONE TO FRIDAY'S SECOND VIRTUAL PUBLIC FORUM FROM 11 TO 1:00 PM.
AND THIS WILL BE THE LAST, UM, FORUM THAT WE HOLD BEFORE WE, UH, GO TO THE DRAWING BOARD.
UM, AND OF COURSE THERE'LL BE A LOT MORE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, PROVIDE INPUT.
AND, UM, AFTER WE HAVE THE MAPS, THE INPUT WILL LOOK PRETTY DIFFERENT.
AT THAT POINT, WE'LL BE DISCUSSING THE MAPS, YOU KNOW, THAT THE, UM, DRAFT MAPS THERE.
SO AGAIN, THIS FORUM OPPORTUNITY IS THE LAST BEFORE THE MAPS ARE DRAWN.
I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US TODAY.
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO ALL THE COMMISSIONERS, ONE LAST TIME, OUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS ICRC DOT COMMISSIONERS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU AGAIN SOON.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, TAKE CARE.