[Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission Public Forum #4]
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WE'LL GIVE FOLKS JUST TWO MORE MINUTES TO JOIN US THIS EVENING.
WE ARE HERE THAT US AND, UH, VICE CHAIR, GONZALEZ.
I'M GONNA LET YOU START US OFF WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
UM, WE WILL GO THROUGH, EXCUSE ME, AN EXPLANATION OF HOW TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK THIS EVENING.
UH, ONCE WE GET STARTED WITH OUR PRESENTATION.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION AND, UH, VICE CHAIR, GONZALEZ.
I'M GONNA LET YOU START US OFF WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MADAM CHAIR.
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US IN OUR VIRTUAL SPACE TODAY, OFFERING UP ONE OF YOUR PRECIOUS EVENINGS TO DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF REDISTRICTING AND ITS IMPACT ON OUR CITY OF AUSTIN.
AFTER 12 PUBLIC FORUMS AND MONTHS OF WORK, WE NOW HAVE AN APPROVED, PRELIMINARY MAP OF WHAT THE NEW CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT MAP COULD LOOK LIKE IN 2022 AND BEYOND.
PLEASE REMEMBER THOUGH, THIS IS A PRELIMINARY DRAFT.
WE ARE HERE THIS EVENING ASKING FOR YOUR FEEDBACK.
I'D LIKE TO WALK US THROUGH OUR AGENDA FOR THIS EVENING.
HERE'S OUR AGENDA ON THE SCREEN NOW.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MADAM CHAIR.
UH, I'D LIKE TO BRIEFLY WALK THROUGH OUR AGENDA THIS EVENING, THE GOAL WOULD BE TO WRAP UP BY 8:00 PM.
WE WILL BRIEFLY GO OVER HOW TO STAY INFORMED AND HOW TO SUBMIT MAP FEEDBACK TO THE ICRC.
AS WE PUSH FORWARD TOWARDS OUR NOVEMBER 1ST DEADLINE, WE'LL GO OVER HOW TO SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY.
THIS EVENING, WE WILL DISCUSS WHY AN INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS IS IMPORTANT.
THE PROCESS ITSELF, AND THE CITY CHARTER THAT GUIDES OUR WORK.
WE WILL SHOW YOU THE PRELIMINARY MAP AND SHOW YOU THE DATA AND THE REASONING USED IN ITS CREATION.
WE WILL THEN MOVE INTO THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY PORTION PORTION OF THIS EVENING'S FORUM.
EACH SPEAKER WILL HAVE THREE MINUTES, AND LASTLY, WE WANT TO SHARE A FEW EVENT REMINDERS BEFORE YOU DEPART US THIS EVENING.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE SOME OF, UH, SOME LINKS TO OUR WEB PRESENCE, OUR FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS, WAYS THAT YOU CAN STAY CONNECTED TO THE WORK OF THE ICRC LONG AFTER YOU DEPART US THIS EVENING.
I WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME TO ALSO THANK OUR LOCAL MEDIA PARTNERS, SUCH AS THE COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER THAT'LL BOONVILLE.
THE AUSTIN MONITOR THE AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN KUT AND THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE FOR THE RECENT ICRC COVERAGE AND SUPPORT AND PROMOTING OUR EVENTS LIKE THIS EVENING'S FORUM.
WHILE THE 14 COMMISSIONERS OR THE ICRC MIGHT BE CHARGED WITH THE ACTUAL WORK OF REDRAWING, THE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT MAP, THE FINAL PRODUCT WILL BE OURS AS AN ENTIRE CITY.
WE CAN NOT DO THIS WITHOUT, UH, PUBLIC FORUMS AND PUBLIC INPUT.
IN ADDITION TO THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY THAT YOU MAY GIVE TONIGHT, UM, YOU CAN ALSO SUBMIT FEEDBACK THROUGH AN ONLINE SURVEY THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE ON SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG.
YOU CAN EMAIL US YOUR FEEDBACK TO ICRC DOT COMMISSIONERS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
UH, YOU'RE ATTENDING A VIRTUAL FORUM.
WE HAVE A PHYSICAL FORUM THE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, OR YOU CAN SEND US GOOD OLD FASHIONED SNAIL MAIL, SOME HOUSEKEEPING AS WE'VE SHIFTED INTO A VIRTUAL MEETING SETTING.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WISH TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION TONIGHT, I, I ASK THAT YOU PLEASE ENTER YOUR FULL NAME
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AND EMAIL ADDRESS AND THE DISTRICT THAT YOU RESIDE IN INTO THE CHAT FUNCTION OF THIS ZOOM MEETING, WE WILL BE UTILIZING THE CHAT FUNCTION SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF, UM, MONITORING AND CALLING ON THOSE WHO WISH TO GIVE PUBLIC TESTIMONY THIS EVENING.ANY OTHER COMMENTS WILL NOT BE CAPTURED FOR ANY WRITTEN COMMENTS? WE DO ASK AGAIN THAT YOU PLEASE EMAIL THE FULL COMMISSION AT ICRC DOT COMMISSIONERS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
WHEN YOU ARE GIVEN PERMISSION TO SPEAK DURING THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY PORTION OF THE FORUM, YOU CAN UNMUTE YOURSELF AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE COMMISSIONERS.
ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU.
YOU WILL RECEIVE A NOTIFICATION TO A MUTE YOURSELF, SIMILAR TO THE IMAGE THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY SEEING ON THE SCREEN.
JUST WANT TO DO A QUICK INTRODUCTION.
YOU SEE THE NAMES ON THE SCREEN.
UH, I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH THE COMMISSIONERS WHO REPRESENT THE INDEPENDENT CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION FOR DISTRICT ONE.
IT IS REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER AERO, HARDING AND COMMISSIONER SILLY NEHI.
DISTRICT TWO IS REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER STATA, ENS COVID ON DISTRICT THREE IS REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER, BRING THEM MORRIS AND COMMISSIONER WONG.
LAKE DISTRICT FOUR IS REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER STERLING LANDS, DISTRICT FIVE REPRESENTATIVE BY COMMISSIONER PRABHU.
KANAAN DISTRICT SIX IS REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER EUGENE SCHNEIDER, DISTRICT SEVEN, REPRESENTED BY THE CHAIR, CHRISTINA
DISTRICT NINE IS REPRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER SHANER KAMBO.
SHE IS ALSO OUR STUDENT COMMISSIONER ON THIS PARTY.
AND DISTRICT 10 IS REPRESENTED BY MYSELF.
I'M THE VICE-CHAIR LOOSEN SOLACE AND COMMISSIONER AARON DEMPSEY.
SO THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS, HOW DID WE GET TO TODAY IN 2012, AUSTIN VOTED TO S UH, TO SET A STANDARD FOR AN OPEN AND TRANSPARENT MAPPING OF OUR DISTRICTS.
IN 2013, AUSTIN BECAME THE FIRST CITY IN THE COUNTRY TO HAVE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS DRAWN THROUGH THE VOLUNTEERISM OF A COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT GROUP OF REGULAR RESIDENTS.
THESE MILESTONES CHANGED THE CITY'S ELECTION SYSTEM AND PROVIDED A POTENTIAL MODEL FOR CITIES NATIONWIDE.
THE 2021 COMMISSIONERS WANT TO STRENGTHEN THAT MODEL.
BUT WHY DOES HAVING AN IMPORTANT AND INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS MATTER? BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT IT'S THE BACKBONE OF DEMOCRACY FOR EQUAL REPRESENTATION AT THE CORE OF REDISTRICTING IS EQUAL AND FAIR REPRESENTATION, INCLUDING FOR HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES PROTECTED UNDER FEDERAL LAW ON THE CITY COUNCIL.
EACH DISTRICT SHOULD HAVE, UM, AS CLOSE TO THE SAME NUMBER OF RESIDENTS AS POSSIBLE.
THIS IS THE ICRC IS NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AND ALSO SUPPORTS INDEPENDENT INPUT.
AN INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS ALLOWS RESIDENTS TO HAVE A VOICE IN HOW THEIR COMMUNITY IS SHAPED WITHOUT THE INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL OFFICIALS.
IN 2015, THE SUPREME COURT AFFIRMED THAT VOTERS DO IN FACT HAVE THE RIGHT TO ESTABLISH INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS LIKE THIS ONE AT A TIME WHEN POLITICIANS ELICIT DISTRUST CITIZEN REDISTRICTING CAN PROVIDE A TRANSPARENT AND TRANSFORMATIVE ALTERNATIVE TO POLITICS.
AS USUAL, THIS MOVEMENT INVITES THE INVOLVEMENT OF ANY AND ALL OF ITS RESIDENTS.
OUR WORK CAN NOT HAPPEN WITHOUT PUBLIC FORUMS LIKE THIS ONE.
AND WHAT THAT ALL OF YOU JOINING US THIS EVENING, IT ALSO ALLOWS US TO FOCUS ON THE RAPID CHANGES THAT AUSTIN IS EXPERIENCING.
THIS INDEPENDENT PROCESS ALLOWS US TO FOCUS ON REDRAWING DISTRICT BOUNDARIES BASED ON POPULATION GROWTH AND MOVEMENT, RATHER THAN BEING CONCERNED WITH THE OUTCOME OF ELECTIONS.
WE'VE MENTIONED WHY AN INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS IS CRITICAL, BUT I WANT TO TAKE A BIT OF TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE ACTUAL PROCESS FOLLOWING OVER 300 APPLICATION APPLICATIONS, EXCUSE ME, THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE 60 MOST QUALIFIED APPLICANTS, THE RANDOM SELECTION OF THE FIRST EIGHT COMMISSIONERS, AND THEN THE INTERNAL SELECTION OF SIX ADDITIONAL THE 14 COMMISSIONERS OF THE ICRC HAVE HELD 12 PUBLIC FORUMS AND JULY AND AUGUST USING THE 2013 MAP TO GATHER FEEDBACK ON THE INTEGRITY OF LOCAL NEIGHBORHOODS.
THIS SERVED AS OUR FOUNDATION.
OVER THAT TIME, WE HAD, WE HOSTED 105 ATTENDEES LISTENED TO 48.
SPEAKERS COLLECTED NEARLY 50 MAPS, 87 EMAILS AND TWO VOICE MESSAGES FROM THE PUBLIC.
WE THEN TASKED OUR MAPPING SPECIALIST, MR. GEORGE KORBEL, TO CREATE A FIRST ROUGH DRAFT OF A NEW MAP THAT PRIORITIZE THE CREATION OF DISTRICTS WITH REASONABLY EQUAL POPULATION USING THE DELAYED 2020 CENSUS DATA, THE ICRC THEN VOTED AND APPROVED THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT MAP THAT YOU WILL SEE TODAY.
IN ADDITION TO POPULATION ADJUSTMENTS, THIS VERSION INCORPORATED CONSIDERATIONS OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND FEEDBACK PERTAINING TO THE INTEGRITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WE HEARD AT THOSE 12 PUBLIC FORUMS AND VIA EMAIL COMMUNICATION THAT BRINGS US TO TODAY.
THE ICRC IS IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING PUBLIC COMMENT FOR 14 DAYS THROUGH FIVE PUBLIC
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FORUMS. THIS IS THE FOURTH OF THOSE FIVE.THAT ADDITIONAL FEEDBACK WILL BE REVIEWED AND CONSIDERED FOR POSSIBLE INCORPORATION INTO A FINAL MAP.
AND ABOUT THAT FINAL MAP PROCESS, THAT PROCESS WILL BEGIN AROUND.
UM, ONE SLIDE BACK, SORRY, APOLOGIES.
I THINK, I THINK FOLKS HAVE BEEN ON ZOOM FOR 16 MONTHS, BUT NOT, UH, NOT CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY ANY TECHNICAL MISHAPS.
MADAM CHAIR, THAT FINAL MAP PROCESS WILL BEGIN AROUND OCTOBER 6TH WHEN THE ICRC WORKS TO DRAFT AND APPROVED THE FIRST VERSION OF WHAT A FINAL MAP COULD LOOK LIKE.
WE THEN TAKE THAT INITIAL VERSION OF A FINAL MAP BACK OUT FOR PUBLIC FEEDBACK AT THREE MORE PUBLIC FORUMS IN MID-OCTOBER, THE ICRC WILL ADOPT A FINAL MAP BY THE DEADLINE SET IN THE CITY CHARTER NO LATER THAN NOVEMBER 1ST, 2021.
AND WE FEEL, UH, WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN MEET THIS DEADLINE.
LASTLY, THE ICRC WILL RELEASE A FINAL REPORT FOLLOWING THE ADOPTION OF THE FINAL MAP.
OUR SUBCOMMITTEE HAS ALREADY BEGUN WORK ON THIS IMPORTANT AND INFORMATIVE DOCUMENT.
SO HOW DOES THE ICRC DRAW OR MAPS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE PROCESS IS THE CITY CHARTER ADHERENT TO SECTION THREE E THE COMMISSIONERS MUST DRAW EACH DISTRICT BOUNDARIES USING THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA THAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN.
THIS IS AN ORDER OF PRIORITY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.
MOST OF OUR GUIDELINES, AS YOU SEE, ARE PRETTY CUT AND DRY.
NUMBER ONE, EACH DISTRICT SHALL HAVE REASONABLY EQUAL POPULATION WITH OTHER DISTRICTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, DISTRICT SIX WAS THE MOST OVERPOPULATED DISTRICT BASED ON THE 2020 CENSUS AND COULD ONLY SHIFT EXCESS POPULATION TO THE NEIGHBORING DISTRICTS OF D 10.
AND THE SEVEN NUMBER TWO DISTRICT SHALL COMPLY WITH THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
THIS IMPACTED DISTRICTS 1, 2, 3, AND FOUR ON THE EAST SIDE OF AUSTIN, WHICH ARE CONSIDERED THE CITY'S PROTECTED OPPORTUNITY.
NUMBER THREE DISTRICT SHALL BE GEOGRAPHICALLY, CONTIGUOUS DISTRICTS CAN SOMETIMES TAKE AN ODD SHAPE.
WHY CAN'T THEY JUST BE PERFECT LINES, PERFECT SIZE AND PERFECT SHAPE? WELL DISTRICTS, UH, WHILE THEY'RE THERE, THEY'RE TOUCHING, IT CANNOT HAVE ANY GAPS, CITY PLANNING, BUSINESS, AND NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT DO NOT HAPPEN IN NEAT AND TIDY SHAPES.
AND BECAUSE PEOPLE LIVE IN DIFFERENT DENSITIES AND DISTRICTS MUST BE RELATIVELY EQUAL IN POPULATION.
THIS CAN SOMETIMES CREATE STRANGE SHAPES.
IT DOES NOT MEAN THOUGH THAT A DISTRICT IS GERRYMANDERED TO SAY THAT A DISTRICT WAS GERRYMANDERED WOULD BE TONE IMPLIED THAT IT WAS DESIGNED THAT WAY TO FORM A POLITICAL ADVANTAGE FOR CANDIDATE OR POLITICAL PARTY, WHICH IS NOT THE CASE IN THIS APOLITICAL REDISTRICTING PROCESS PRIORITY.
NUMBER FOUR, HIGHLIGHTED ON THE SCREEN, 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 VIOLATE VIOLATING THE REQUIREMENTS OF ANY OF THE PRECEDING SEX SUBSECTIONS.
THIS IS WHY YOU HAVE JOINED US TODAY.
THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED FROM YOUR PUBLIC TESTIMONY GENERALLY FALLS INTO THIS CATEGORY PRIORITY.
NUMBER FIVE, DISTRICT BOUNDARIES SHALL BE DRAWN TO ENCOURAGE GEOGRAPHICAL COMPACTNESS DISTRICTS SHOULD NOT BE DRAWN IN A WAY THAT MAKES THEM UNNECESSARILY SPRAWL.
THEY SHOULD BE COMPACT, MEANING THAT RESIDENTS OF THE SAME DISTRICT SHOULD LIVE AS NEAR TO ONE ANOTHER AS PRACTICABLE, PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE, WE HAVE TWO MORE PRIORITIES.
NUMBER SIX DISTRICT BOUNDARIES SHALL BE DRAWN USING THE BOUNDARIES OF EXISTING ELECTION PRECINCTS.
AND I THINK WE ARE ON A DIFFERENT SLIDE.
WE'LL GET THAT FIXED PREVIOUS LINE.
THE SCREEN, THE SCREEN WILL POP UP IN A BIT, BUT THE PRIORITY NUMBER SIX, THAT DISTRICT BINARY SHALL BE DRAWN USING THE BOUNDARIES OF EXISTING ELECTION PRECINCTS.
THESE ARE ALSO CALLED THE BTDS OR VOTING TABULATION DISTRICTS.
YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN THE SPLIT OF ETD IN SOME NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE 2013 MAP.
WE CAN DEVIATE FROM THIS WHEN NECESSARY, SUCH AS IN THE CASE OF NUMBER TWO FOR THE POPULATION, FOR THE POPULATION OF AN OPPORTUNITY DISTRICT.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, BEING ON THE CORRECT SIDE HERE.
FINALLY, UH, PRIORITY NUMBER SEVEN IS DISTRICT BOUNDARY SHALL BE DRAWN USING GEOGRAPHICALLY IDENTIFIABLE BOUNDARIES.
AUSTIN'S NATURAL BOUNDARIES LIKE LAKE TRAVIS SHOW CREEK.
MANY PARTS OF OUR GREENBELT DO MAKE GREAT CITY COUNCIL BOUNDARIES AS WELL.
WE ALSO CONSIDER MAJOR ARTERIES AND MAJOR CORRIDORS.
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AREA AREAS AND BUILDINGS, OR ALSO CONSIDERED IN PRIORITY.NUMBER SEVEN, I'M GOING TO PASS THE MIC OVER NOW TO OUR CHAIR, CHRISTIAN APPRENTICE, WHO WILL GO THROUGH THE PRELIMINARY MAP AND SOME OF THE DATA THAT WAS USED IN ITS CREATION.
ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE ON THIS SLIDE.
YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE POPULATION GROWTH BY DISTRICT FROM 2010 TO 2020, AND THEN THE ADJUSTED POPULATION PER PROPOSED NEW DISTRICT, WHICH IS IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN IN 2010, THE POPULATION OF AUSTIN STOOD AT 790,390 PEOPLE.
SO THE IDEAL POPULATION PER CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT IN 2013, WHEN OUR CURRENT MAPS WERE DRAWN, UH, WAS 79,000.
THE LARGEST DISTRICT LAST TIME WAS DISTRICT SIX AND THE SMALLEST DISTRICT WAS DISTRICT ONE WITHIN THE 2013 BOUNDARIES BY 2020 DISTRICT SIX HAD GONE FROM JUST 3.7, 2% ABOVE DEVIATION TO 12.7, 6% ABOVE DEVIATION.
SO MEANWHILE, DISTRICT FOREST POPULATION BARELY INCREASED OVER 10 YEARS, UH, JUST BY ABOUT 1300 RESIDENTS TODAY.
THE IDEAL POPULATION PER EACH OF THE 10 DISTRICTS SITS AT 96,185 PEOPLE BASED ON THE CURRENT CITY POPULATION OF 961,855, A NUMBER PROVIDED TO US BY THE 2020 CENSUS DATA.
THAT'S ABOUT A 21% INCREASE SINCE 2010 OR ABOUT 172,000 PEOPLE.
THESE DISTRICTS ARE ALL WITHIN THE LEGAL DEVIATION RANGE.
NOTICE THE LARGEST POPULATION IN THE PRELIMINARY MAP HAS A DISTRICT EIGHT AT 101,397, WHICH IS 5.4, 2% ABOVE DEVIATION.
WHILE THE SMALLEST POPULATION IN THE PRELIMINARY MAP IS CURRENTLY DISTRICT THREE WITH 92,924 AND MINUS 3.39% DEVIATION.
SO BELOW, UM, IF YOU TAKE THESE TWO ENDS OF THE POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, YOU'RE GOING TO GET AN 8.81% DEVIATION, WHICH SITS UNDER THE 10% DEVIATION LIMIT.
IN ADDITION TO POPULATION SHIFTS, WE ALSO HAVE REQUESTED EXPERT TESTIMONY ON AUSTIN'S HISTORY, INCLUDING ITS RACIAL HISTORY, POLICIES, TRANSPORTATION, LAND ATTRIBUTES, AND DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS.
WE HAVE DONE THIS ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
THE ICRC HEARD FROM TRAVIS COUNTY ABOUT VOTING PRECINCTS AND WE PLAN TO WORK WITH THE COUNTY ON REDISTRICTING AS NECESSARY, UH, WHICH WILL COME A LITTLE LATER IN THE YEAR.
AND WE'VE ALSO HEARD FROM AUSTIN ISD AND AS PART OF THE PROCESS OF GAINING FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE, THE COMMISSION WAS ALSO EDUCATED ON THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND OTHER APPLICABLE LAWS AND STATUTES, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT, SECTION TWO, THAT'S WHERE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA BECOMES RELEVANT.
SECTION TWO PROHIBITS VOTING PRACTICES AND REDISTRICTING PLANS THAT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, OR MEMBERSHIP IN A LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUP, MINORITY OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS THAT ARE DRAWN TO HAVE A MAJORITY PEOPLE OF COLOR AS THE VOTING AGE POPULATION ARE PROTECTED SO THAT THEY MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO ELECT A CANDIDATE OF THEIR CHOICE.
AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN REDISTRICTING CONSIDERATION IS PUBLIC AND FUND.
THE ICRC PRODUCED A DOCUMENT THAT LISTED ALL THE PUBLIC INPUT IN ALL OF ITS FORUMS BY DISTRICT.
SO THAT COMMISSIONERS COULD HAVE A CLEARER PICTURE OF WHAT WAS BEING ASKED OF US IN THE PROCESS.
AND THIS WAY COMMISSIONERS COULD UNDERSTAND AND ADVOCATE FOR THE ASKS COMING FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THEIR PERSPECTIVE DISTRICTS.
SINCE WE HAVE ONE TO TWO COMMISSIONERS COMING FROM EVERY CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT, ADDITIONALLY, THE COMMISSION CHOSE TO START WITH THE 2013 MAP THAT WAS FORMED ALONG WITH THE COUNCIL STRUCTURE CHANGE TO TEN ONE.
AND THESE DISTRICTS HAVE PROVIDED A REALLY STRONG FOUNDATION FOR THE 2021 ICRC.
UM, HAVING PROVIDED THEIR RATIONALE IN THE 2013 ICRC FINAL REPORT WITH FIDELITY TO THE CITY CHARTER PRIORITIES.
THE ORIGINAL MAP WAS BASED ON THE SAME STANDARDS WE'RE BASING OUR MAPS ON AND UPON REVIEWING THE 2013 REPORT, THE COMMISSION FOUND THAT THE LOCATIONS OF FACILITIES MAJOR LANDMARKS AND NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE BEEN STABLE, EVEN IF THE RACIAL DEMOGRAPHICS HAVE CHANGED WHILE THE CITY'S GROWN.
SO GIVEN THAT AND THE VOTING PRECINCTS, THE BTDS MANY OF THE BOUNDARY LINES ARE STABLE.
SO HERE IS THE REVEAL OF THE TWO MAPS.
YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THESE BY NOW.
UM, AND I'LL POINT OUT A FEW KEY POINTS ABOUT THE PRELIMINARY MAP AS IT COMPARES TO THE EXISTING MAP FROM 2013.
UM, JUST AS A REMINDER, UM, WE HAVE ALL OF THIS STUFF AVAILABLE ONLINE.
YOU CAN GO TO SPEAK UP AUSTIN AND, UM, ALL OF THIS IS DOWNLOADABLE AND WE HAVE AN INTERACTIVE MAP FEATURES AS WELL THAT YOU CAN FIND ON SPEAK-UP BOSTON.
UM, SO AS WE SAW EARLIER, THE DATA
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SUPPORTS A CHANGE TO THE SHAPE OF DISTRICTS THAT HAVE GROWN SIGNIFICANTLY, AS WELL AS THEIR ADJACENT DISTRICTS DISTRICTS, SIX, 10, AND SEVEN WERE OF SIGNIFICANT FOCUS IN THE MAPPING DISCUSSIONS.CONVERSELY, IN THE CASE OF A DISTRICT THAT IS NOT BROWN, LIKE DISTRICT FOUR, IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A RELATIVELY EQUAL POPULATION ACROSS ALL DISTRICTS, THE DISTRICT NECESSITATED TAKING POPULATION FROM ITS SURROUNDING DISTRICTS SEVEN AND ONE, SOME DISTRICTS SUCH AS TWO AND FIVE REQUIRED MINIMAL CHANGE BECAUSE THE POPULATION GROWTH WITHIN ITS CURRENT BOUNDARIES MATCHED THE POPULATION SIZE OF DISTRICTS BASED ON THE CITY'S 2020 POPULATION.
UH, THESE MAPS WERE DRAWN STARTING WITH CONSIDERATION OF THE BOUNDARIES OF PROTECTED MINORITY OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS.
ON THE EAST SIDE THAT'S DISTRICTS, 1, 2, 3, AND FOUR, RATHER THAN STARTING FROM ANOTHER ORIENTATION AROUND THE CITY.
THIS WAS TO ENSURE THE LARGEST POSSIBLE CONCENTRATION OF BLACK AND HISPANIC POPULATIONS WITHIN THESE BOUNDARIES SO THAT THEY HAVE THE GREATEST CHANCE OF ELECTING A CANDIDATE OF THEIR CHOICE.
AND THIS IS ALL SUPPORTED BY THE DATA.
THE COUNTY WILL NOT RELEASE THEIR NEW VOTING PRECINCTS FOR BTDS UNTIL LATER THIS YEAR.
AND SO FOR THE TIME BEING THE ICRC HAS USED THE EXISTING SHAPE OF VTS TO GUIDE OUR CHANGES.
THE COUNTY HAS INFORMED US THAT SOME OF THESE BTDS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE ALSO BASED ON NEEDING EQUAL POPULATION.
AND THE ICRC MAY MINORLY ADJUST LINES AFTER OUR NOVEMBER 1ST DEADLINE TO ACCOMMODATE THESE CHANGES.
BUT OVERALL MUCH OF THIS MAP HAS STAYED THE SAME FIRST CHANGES THAT YOU SEE REFLECT POPULATION CHANGE AND THE NEED TO DRAW BOUNDARIES THAT CONTAIN EQUAL POPULATION WITHIN THEM.
AND THIS WAS BEST ACCOMPLISHED USING THE BTDS SECOND DISTRICTS WITH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF PEOPLE OF COLOR WERE PRIORITIZED AS REQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL VRA.
AND FINALLY, THE HEART OF THE COMMISSION'S DISCUSSION LEADING UP TO APPROVAL OF THE PRELIMINARY MAPS BEFORE YOU HAD TO DO WITH COMMUNITY INPUT.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY SEE A CHANGE THAT CREATES AN UNNECESSARY SPLIT IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, OR MAINTAINS A SPLIT FROM THE LAST MAP THAT YOU DID NOT WANT TO SEE.
AND IF THIS IS THE CASE, PLEASE SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH US TONIGHT SO THAT WE HAVE ALL OF YOUR TESTIMONY ON RECORD FOR CONSIDERATION IN THE FINAL MAP.
SO WE HAVE REACHED OUR PUBLIC TESTIMONY PORTION OF THIS EVENING AND, UM, WE DO HAVE JUST, UH, I DO, CAN WE GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE OR IS EVERYONE ABLE TO PUT THEIR NAMES IN THE CHAT? I THINK THAT THAT WAS THE RULE FOR THIS TIME AROUND FOR THE VIRTUAL IS JUST, YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR NAME, UM, DISTRICT AND EMAIL ADDRESS.
IS THAT RIGHT? I SHARE GONZALEZ.
AND CHRISTINE GRANADOS IS GOING TO HANDLE THIS PORTION, SO CHRISTINE TAKE IT AWAY.
HI, I'LL CALL ON YOU IN THE ORDER THAT YOU SIGNED INTO THE CHAT.
YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES, THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK.
AND AT THE TWO MINUTE 32ND, MARK, YOU'LL SEE THIS NOTEBOOK SO THAT YOU'LL KNOW THAT YOU'VE GOT 30 SECONDS LEFT AND I'M AT TIME.
I WILL TELL YOU YOU'RE AT TIME.
AND IF YOU DO ASK A QUESTION OF THE COMMISSIONERS, I WILL PAUSE YOUR TIME.
OKAY? SO THE FIRST PERSON TO SPEAK, FIRST PERSON WHO SIGNED UP WAS, UH, STEVEN WINTROP FROM DISTRICT SEVEN.
YOU CAN ADDRESS THE COMMISSION, YOU I'M STEVEN WINE CARMEN MAKING FOR MYSELF MANY, CONSIDER ME AN EXPERT ON MAPS AND DATA.
I WANT TO START BY SAYING, I DON'T HAVE A POLITICAL PROBLEM WITH YOUR MAPS, BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM THAT MEANS SIDE EFFECT.
I MENTIONED QUITE OFTEN, ACCORDING TO THE MOST RECENT TRAVIS COUNTY DATA, THERE ARE 858 DIFFERENT VOTING COMBINATION BALLOTS IN TRAVIS COUNTY, 156 OF THOSE BALLOTS GO TO LESS THAN 10 VOTERS AND 31 OF THOSE COMBINATIONS GO TO JUST ONE VOTER.
YOU COULD SAY, WELL, THAT'S JUST TRAVIS COUNTY.
AUSTIN IS THIS DIFFERENT, BUT AUSTIN, THERE ARE 406 DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS, 47 GOING TO LESS THAN 10 VOTERS AND NINE GOING TO A UNIQUE VOTER.
SO WHY DO I BRING THIS UP? SIMPLY WHEN CHRISTINE BARBER IS PATIENT DIVERGENCE OF BALANCES OF ENDURANCE, W WHEN YOUR BALLOT DEFERENCE FROM YOUR NEIGHBORS IS PERFECT YET COMPLETE INVALID VOTING INFORMATION AND DISCOURAGES VOTING.
I WON'T EVEN GO INTO THE MANAGEMENT OR DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION PROBLEMS. THIS CAUSES.
WHY IS IT A CONCERN HERE? EVERY CLINICAL ENTRY I TALKED TO SAYS, WE'RE INDEPENDENT AND WE DRAW OUR OWN LINES, NECESSARILY SALTING WITH THE OTHERS.
I'VE HEARD YOU SAY YOU'RE CONSULTING
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WITH OTHERS.BUT PLEASE CONTINUE WITH THAT.
WHEN I TALKED TO KEEP ON YOUR PROCESS ALREADY, I WAS TOLD WE'RE INDEPENDENT, AND WE BROUGHT HER IN MAPS.
IT'S THIS INDEPENDENCE, WHICH IS A PROBLEM.
I SIMPLY ASK YOU, SLOW YOUR PROCESS, SEE WHAT THE OTHER MAPS ARE DOING IN COORDINATE.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT LEAST USE THE CURRENT MODELS RIGHT NOW, THAT'S THE COUNTY PRECINCTS.
AS THEY EXIST WITH ONE EXCEPTION, WE TIME TRYING TO WORK OUT WITH THIS STATE, AND IT IS A BOUNDARY ISSUE WITH DISTRICTS NINE.
AND ONE IN YOUR MAP, THE STATE MAPS FOLLOW THE CURRENT PRECINCT LINES BY GOING BY PRECINCT LINE TO GUARANTEE THE VOTER WILL AT LEAST HAVE THE SAME KIND OF THING.
COUNTY, COMMISSIONER, STATE, SENATOR REPRESENTATIVE, AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBER.
YOUR CURRENT MAP CURRENTLY HAS 22 PRECINCTS, WHICH VOTE IN MULTIPLE COUNTY RACE MUMBO-JUMBO CITY COUNCIL RACES.
I CAN SUPPLY YOU WITH THAT LIST IF YOU WANT.
I ASKED YOU TO CORRECT THEM NOW THAT I CHASTISED YOU FOR USING PRECINCT LINES.
I'M GOING TO CHASTISE YOU FOR NOT FOLLOWING FOR FOLLOWING THREE LINES.
UM, BUT I'M A CITIZEN I'M ALLOWED TO BE, UH, INCONSISTENT.
THE STATE FOLLOWS THE CURRENT PRECINCT LINES IN ALL THEIR MAPS SET FOR ONE INSTANCE.
UM, AND THAT'S LIKELY TO BE IN THE COUNTY.
WE'LL KEEP MOST OF THE PRECINCTS AS THEY ARE, BUT IT'S NOT UNIVERSAL.
OVER 5,000 VOTERS HAVE TO BE SHRUNK BY STATE LAW.
SECOND, THE LINES WERE DRAWN LAST TIME WITH A GERRYMANDER AND THE COUNTY WILL CLEAN UP UGLY BORDERS AND DEFECTIVE PRECINCTS.
AND YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF THIS, A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS, IF THE LINE BETWEEN DISTRICTS NINE AND 10, UM, WHICH IS THE PRECINCT LINE BETWEEN PRECINCT 2 15, 2 14, THIS IS A GERRYMANDER, WHICH IS ACTUALLY BUILT ALONG THE UNBUILT MEDIAN TO ACTUALLY CAPTURE KURT WATSON'S HOUSE.
OH, CAN I JUST FINISH UP? AND IF YES, GO AHEAD.
IT'S LIKELY THIS WILL NOT RESERVE.
MOREOVER PRECINCT TWO 50 IS OVER 6,500 VOTERS IS VERY LIGHTLY.
THE COUNTY WILL MERGE THESE TWO PRECINCTS AND DIVIDE THEM INTO TWO, THREE PRECINCTS OF THREE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED FIFTY FOUR THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED VOTERS, WHICH MEANS YOUR LINE WILL NO LONGER BE PRECINCT LINE.
SO TO SUMMARIZE, I DON'T ASK HOW A POLITICAL PROBLEM.
WE NEED TO KEEP DOWN THE NUMBER OF BALLOTS FOR EFFECT FITNESS.
SO SLOW DOWN THE PROCESS, COORDINATE WITH OTHERS.
AND IF YOU CAN'T SLOW DOWN AT LEAST THREE ON THE CURRENT PRECINCT LINES WITH SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, WHERE THOSE LINES ARE LIKELY TO CHANGE.
AND DO ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS HAVE A QUESTION FOR THIS SPEAKER BEFORE YOU MOVE ON? COMMISSIONER BLINK.
UH, ONE QUICK QUESTION IS WHY TREV, DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF HOW THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT BOUT COMBINATIONS IN AUSTIN COMPARES TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES OR OTHER CITIES IN GENERAL? IT SEEMS TO BE, THIS WOULD BE A PROBLEM FOR EVERYBODY TRYING TO CREATE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS, GIVEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND APPRAISAL DISTRICT AND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
UH, I JUST WONDER IF YOU KNOW, ONE COMMENT ALSO IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE BOUND BY A CHARTER THAT GIVES US A DUE DATE THAT WE HAVE TO WORK UNDER IT.
WE CAN'T REALLY JUST CHANGE IT.
I WANT TO, BUT, BUT GENERALLY SPEED.
DO YOU HAVE IT? BUT MY, MY BROADER QUESTION IS, DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHETHER AUSTIN IS PARTICULARLY BAD AT THIS RELATIVE TO OTHER TEXAS CITIES, OR IF WE'RE BASICALLY JUST, IF THIS IS JUST A HIGHLIGHTING FOR US, UM, BY POPULATION NUMBER IS AUSTIN IS ACTUALLY WORSE THAN MOST AREAS AND THAT'S FOR VARIOUS REASONS.
FIRST, UM, WE WERE IN VASTLY YARN.
YOU ENTERED IN THE LAST ELECTION.
UM, THE STATE VOTING AREAS IN TRAVIS COUNTY WERE 80 DIFFERENT VOTING AREAS.
UM, SOME OF THOSE VOTING AREAS WERE AREAS AS SMALL AS TWO OR EIGHT VOTERS.
UM, SO THE COUNTY GETS CONSTRAINED BY THAT.
UH, SO THE GERRYMANDER HURTS ALSO BECAUSE OF AUSTIN'S RAPID GROWTH.
SO WE'VE DOUBLED INSIDE PRACTICALLY EVERY 10 YEARS SINCE 1950.
AND AS A RESULT, WE HAVE A MISMATCH OF AGE DISTRICTS WITH HAVE NOT BEEN IN SOAR MUDS SCHOOL DISTRICTS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO AUSTIN'S GROWTH HAS MADE THIS WORSE THAN IN OTHER AREAS.
UM, HOUSTON FOR ITS SIZE, DOESN'T QUITE AS BIG OF A PROBLEM OR HARRIS COUNTY DOESN'T HAVE QUITE AS BIG OF A PROBLEM, BUT, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU LOOK AT THE MAP, PARTICULARLY AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE IN LINE 10 VOTING ON A BALLOT OR ONE VOTING ON BALLOT.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A PROBLEM IN EVERY, EVERY BALLOT OF COMPLEX BALLOT TEST COUNTY,
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ACTUALLY ALWAYS, ALMOST ALWAYS HAS AN ERROR OF SOME SORT THAT SOMEWHERE DOWN ON THE BALLOT, SOMEWHERE WHERE THEY HAD A SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT WHERE IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE AN AREA WIDE DISTRICT, YOU KNOW, THAT SORT OF THING.SO IT LEADS TO A LOT OF MANAGEMENT AND ERROR PROBLEMS ON THE COUNTY PART, BUT IT ALSO LEADS TO A LOT OF VOTER CONFUSION.
OF COURSE, THAT'S ONE OF THE POINTS GERRYMANDER.
UM, THIS, THE SECOND, UH, THE SECOND PART OF THE QUESTION IS YES, I UNDERSTAND THE, UM, CHARTER REQUIREMENTS.
UM, THE CHARTER ALSO ALLOWS THE ABILITY TO AMEND OR A YES, AND EITHER DOING THAT IF LINES AND VOTING AREAS CAN BE ADJUSTED TO CORRESPOND.
UM, I THINK I POINTED OUT TWO AREAS WENT ON OVER BY
UM, ONE OF THE STATE HAS ACTUALLY VIOLATED A PRECINCT, THE ONLY PLACE THEY'VE DONE IT.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO THE BORDER BETWEEN TWO 14 AND TWO 50, OR IS, UH, GOING TO BE A PROBLEM.
UM, BUT THERE ARE PROBABLY OTHERS IN THE MAP AND I SAT DOWN AND WENT OVER AND BECAUSE I'M MOSTLY SPENDING MY TIME ON THE STATE MAPS AND WRITING TESTIMONY FOR THAT, SO, OH, WELL, OKAY.
WELL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT CONTEXT.
IT'S DEFINITELY A VERY APPRECIATED.
DO WE HAVE ANY MORE BEFORE WE MOVE ON? THANK YOU SO MUCH, SIR.
THE NEXT SPEAKER IS ADRIAN GOLDSBERRY.
YOU CAN ADDRESS THE COMMISSION.
HI, CAN Y'ALL HEAR ME? YES, WE CAN.
UM, HI, MY NAME IS ADRIAN GOLDSBERRY.
UM, I AM THE CHAIR OF THE STEERING COMMITTEE FOR THE OLD WEST AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION, BUT I'M GIVING MY COMMENTS JUST ON BEHALF OF ME PERSONALLY.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SERVICE.
I HAVE AN UNDERGRADUATE AND A GRADUATE DEGREE IN GEOGRAPHY, SO I AM CERTAINLY EMPATHETIC TO THE CHALLENGES OF DRAWING FAIR DISTRICTS AND WORKING WITH THE MINI SETS OF DATA THAT YOU ALL HAVE TO WORK WITH TO DO THIS.
I JUST WANTED TO, UM, STATE THAT.
SO RIGHT NOW ON THE PRELIMINARY MAP, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD BOUNDARIES ARE WE'RE CURRENTLY WITHIN DISTRICT NINE AND YOU ALL ARE PROPOSING US TO BE MOVED TO, UM, TO DISTRICT 10.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, OLD WEST AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION IS BOUNDED BY MOPAC ON THE WEST LAMAR ON THE EAST.
UM, BASICALLY BASICALLY, UM, LABOR LAKE ON THE SOUTH AND THEN 15TH STREET AND FIELD TO THE NORTH.
SO WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT SECTION.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO STATE THAT, I RECOGNIZE THAT YOU ALL ARE TRYING TO BALANCE SO MANY DIFFERENT FACTORS IN DRAWING THESE BOUNDARIES, BUT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD REALLY SHARES SO MUCH MORE IN COMMON, UM, DEMOGRAPHICALLY AND GEOGRAPHICALLY IN TERMS OF, UM, DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES AND STREET PATTERNS AND DESIGN PATTERNS OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD.
I MEAN, SO MANY DIFFERENT FACTORS.
WE SHARE THOSE MUCH MORE IN COMMON WITH DOWNTOWN IN PLACES LIKE HYDE PARK THAT ARE PART OF DISTRICT NINE.
NOW, I BELIEVE, AND THEN PROPOSED, THEN WE DO WITH THE PROPOSED BOUNDARIES OF DISTRICT 10, THAT YOU ALL ARE SHOWING US IN A, THAT PRELIMINARY MAP, WHICH INCLUDES TARRYTOWN, BUT ALSO INCLUDES LIKE NORTHWEST HILLS AND GREAT, GREAT, UH, GREAT HILLS.
SO FAR NORTHWEST NEIGHBORHOODS, WHICH ARE MUCH MORE SUBURBAN IN CHARACTER AND FACE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SET OF ISSUES DEVELOPMENT WISE AND OUR NEIGHBORHOOD DOES.
UM, SO ONCE AGAIN, THAT WAS JUST KINDA MY MAIN OBSERVATION WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT THOSE MAPS THAT WE, IT JUST, WE'RE A VERY DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOOD THAN A LOT OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT WERE BEING PUT IN WITH THE DISTRICT 10.
AND IT WAS JUST, I WANTED TO BRING THAT TO Y'ALL'S ATTENTION, UM, FOR CONSIDERATION IN THE PRELIMINARY MAP.
DO YOU, ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS HAVE A QUESTION FROM A SCHOOL FAIR.
MADAM CHAIR, MRS. GOLDSBERRY, CAN YOU PLEASE ONE, REPEAT THE BOUNDARIES, THE STREET BOUNDARIES OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD FOR US.
AND THEN SECOND TO CLARIFY YOUR ASK.
ARE YOU, UM, ASKING THE ICRC TO CONSIDER BASICALLY MOVING YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD BACK INTO DISTRICT NINE FROM THE CURRENT DISTRICT 10 SHOWN IN THE PRELIMINARY PRELIM PRELIMINARY MAP? THANK YOU.
UM, OUR BOUNDARIES ARE, UM, MOPAC TO THE WEST LAMAR BOULEVARD TO THE EAST, UM, LADY, BASICALLY THE SHORES OF LADY BIRD LAKE, UM, TO THE SOUTH AND THEN, AND FIELD 15TH STREET TO THE, UM, TO THE NORTH.
AND THEN I WOULD, MY ASK, I GUESS, IS THAT WE WOULD STAY WITHIN DISTRICT NINE AS OPPOSED TO BEING MOVED TO DISTRICT 10.
LIKE I SAID, I FEEL LIKE FOR A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT DEMOGRAPHIC AND GEOGRAPHIC REASONS, WE SHARE MUCH MORE IN COMMON WITH THE AREAS THAT ARE IN DISTRICT NINE CURRENTLY THAN
[00:35:01]
WE DO WITH THE AREAS THAT ARE IN DISTRICT 10.WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS BEFORE MOVING ON.
THE NEXT PERSON TO ADJUST THE COMMISSION IS TRACY WITTY FROM DISTRICT ONE.
YOU CAN ADDRESS THE COMMISSION.
UM, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU THIS EVENING.
YOU'VE DONE AN INCREDIBLE JOB IN A VERY SHORT TIME.
MOST, ESPECIALLY IN MAKING THE PUBLIC FEEL WELCOME TO BE PART OF THE PROCESS AND TRULY HEARD.
I'M TRACY WOODY, AND I'VE LIVED IN SWEET HILL IN CENTRAL EAST AUSTIN FOR 21 YEARS.
I WANT TO ECHO THE REQUESTS OF THE NAACP HISPANIC COALITION OR HOUSTON AND NATE JONES THAT THE WESTERN BOUNDARY OF DISTRICT ONE,
PLEASE MOVE ALL THE OTHER PARCELS WEST OF THE INTERSTATE AND SOUTH DOWN TO EAST 10TH STREET BACK INTO DISTRICT NINE.
AS NATE MENTIONED TO YOU, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN AREA INCLUDES A LARGE PORTION OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DISTRICT, BUT FEWER AND FEWER OF THE RESIDENTS WHO MADE IT THAT CITY, DEMOGRAPHER, VALENCIA BRIEFED COUNCIL THIS MORNING AND UNDERSCORED THAT AFRICAN-AMERICANS COMPRISE ONLY 3.1% OF AUSTIN'S GROWTH OVER THE LAST DECADE, DESPITE A STRONG MIGRATION TO CITIES IN THE SOUTH.
AT ONE POINT, SHE POSTULATED THAT THE DROP IN NUMBER OF LATINO AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN BETWEEN 2010 AND 2020, MAYBE IN A HARBINGER OF FEWER LATINO AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN ADULTS IN AUSTIN'S FUTURE.
THERE IS A NOBLE PUSH TO REMOVE THE DECADES LONG EYESORE AND CONCRETE MONUMENT TO SEGREGATION.
THAT IS
AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, OUR EAST AUSTIN COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST WHO LEAD VERY DIFFERENT LIVES AND ENDEAVOR TO CONTINUE TO DO SO THAT OUTCOME IS FAR FROM AXIOMATIC AND DIRECTLY TIED TO THEIR ABILITY.
OUR ABILITY TO ELECT REPRESENTATIVES, WHOSE MISSION IS THAT OUTCOME.
THE FORMER SITE OF THE BRETHREN BRECKENRIDGE HOSPITAL IS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE DOWNTOWN'S INNOVATION DISTRICT.
AND IT'S ENTITLED FOR HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF REDEVELOPMENT ON 14 ACRES, THE EXPECTED GROWTH.
THERE COULD QUICKLY UNBALANCED DISTRICT ONE DIMINISHING THE POWER AND NUMBERS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND LATINOS THAT WE'RE HERE TO MAINTAIN.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK WITH THE NAACP HISPANIC COALITION, AND FOR CONSIDERING THE REQUEST TO RESTORE THE BOUNDARY AT AGE 35, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF LBJ SCHOOL IN THE LIBRARY, IT'S A BIG DEAL.
AND I THANK YOU FOR RECOGNIZING IT.
AND MISS BETTY, DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS? FORMS, PUDDING.
NEXT PERSON TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION IS MONICA GUZMAN.
UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK.
THIS IS THE FIRST FOUR OF MY BEEN ABLE TO WATCH MUCH LESS PARTICIPATE IN.
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'VE DONE.
UM, I HAVEN'T BEEN FOLLOWING A LOT, BUT I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
UH, I WAS LOOKING AT THE DISTRICT FORMAT AND SAW THAT THEIR PROPOSAL IS TO INCLUDE, EXTEND THE BORDER TO INCLUDE, UH, PRECINCT 2 48.
AND I'M WONDERING, DO YOU HAVE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THAT PRECINCT 2 48 AS WELL AS THE, I GUESS SOUTHEAST TIP OF THE BOOT GROWS EXTENDED.
I BELIEVE THAT'S 1 33 AND ONE 30 IN, I THINK ENOUGH OF A, THERE'S STILL A HIGH ENOUGH LATINEX, UH, POPULATION PERCENTAGE.
IT'S NOT GOING TO SHIP THAT MUCH OR ANYTHING.
UM, COMMISSIONER FALCON, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADDRESS THAT QUESTION? SURE.
I DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL NUMBERS FOR YOU.
IF YOU SEND US AN EMAIL, WE CAN, UM, SEND YOU THAT DATA.
I BELIEVE I MIGHT BE SPEAKING OUT OF TURN, BUT IF YOUR CONCERN IS THE PRESERVATION OF THAT DISTRICT AS A OPPORTUNITY DISTRICT, THE ADDITION OF THOSE DOES PRESERVE DISTRICT FOUR AS A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY DISTRICT.
SO IT IS, UM, MAJORITY, UM, LATIN X OR HISPANIC, WHICHEVER TERM WE'RE USING MOMENT.
UM, AND IT DOES PRESERVE DISTRICT FOUR AS, UM, A VOTER OPPORTUNITY DISTRICT.
[00:40:01]
MAYBE THAT WAS AT THE BASIS OF YOUR QUESTION AND IF SO, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU THAT INFORMATION.UH, YES, THAT, THAT, THAT IS THE CORE OF IT.
UH, I'M STILL CURIOUS, BUT SO ALSO SUBMITTED AN EMAIL JUST, UM, BECAUSE I USED TO AT ONE TIME BE IN DISTRICT 2 48, BUT THE BOUNDARIES WERE DIFFERENT BACK THEN BACK IN THE DARK AGES.
UH, AND I WILL ALSO ADD TO THAT, THAT, UM, WHEN WE WERE IN DISTRICT FOUR, UM, WE DID RECEIVE SPECIFIC TESTIMONY ABOUT THE MAKEUP OF 2 48 IS ACTUALLY MY NEIGHBOR LIKE NEIGHBOR HOOD.
SO, UM, WE DID RECEIVE SPECIFIC TESTIMONY ABOUT 2 48 AND THAT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF IT GIVEN THE CHANGES REALLY ALIGN WELL WITH THIS, THE, YOU KNOW, EXISTING DEMOGRAPHICS OF DISTRICT FOUR.
UM, SO THAT WAS PARTICULAR TESTIMONY THERE.
UM, AND SAME WITH, I MAY BOT TO NUMBERS ONE 30 AND 1 33, THAT THOSE WOULD, THE SHIFT WOULD HELP PRESERVE BOTH DISTRICT ONE AND DISTRICT FOUR AS THE OPPORTUNITY DISTRICTS.
SO THOUGH, BECAUSE DISTRICT FOUR IS, UM, JUST TO KEEP USING OPPORTUNITY TO DISTRICTS, WE WERE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT ANY CHANGES.
I MEAN, AS WE WERE WITH ALL OF THEM, BUT AS CHAIR POINT, THIS, I THINK MENTIONED IN HER TALK IS THAT THAT'S WHERE WE LOOKED FIRST TO PRESERVE THOSE, UM, OPPORTUNITIES DISTRICTS.
AND I'M YOUR NEIGHBOR IN TWO 17 AND I'M DONE.
I SEE VICE-CHAIR GONZALEZ ALSO WANTED TO JUMP IN.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER PAUL, GO AHEAD AND PRETTY MUCH EXPLAINED IT, BUT I DID DO HAVE SOME CONCRETE NUMBERS, UM, FOR OUR SPEAKER TODAY IN PARTICULAR TO 2, 4 8.
I DO KNOW THAT THAT PRECINCT, THE CURRENT POPULATION STANDS AT ABOUT 5,300 RESIDENTS.
UH, 40% DO IDENTIFY AS WHITE, 50% IDENTIFY AS HISPANIC IN THAT PARTICULAR BTD.
AND MS. GUZMAN, DID YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR US OR TESTIMONY? I DO NOT.
THE NEXT PERSON TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION IS ANNA PATELLA.
I AM THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION.
UM, BUT I AM SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF MYSELF THIS EVENING.
UM, IT WAS, IT CAME TO MY ATTENTION, UM, FROM THE AUSTIN BULLDOG ARTICLE THAT ERIN DEMPSEY ACTING ON A REQUEST FROM CHAIR, CHRISTINA
NOW I KNOW ACCORDING TO THE CHARTER, THE ICRC SHOULD NOT COMMUNICATE WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS AND NOT DRAW THE MAPS, FAVORING INCUMBENTS, AND BE INDEPENDENT FROM THE INFLUENCE BY THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, WHOSE MISTAKE I SAW, I HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS WHOSE MISTAKE WAS, THIS WERE THE ADDRESSES THAT CHRISTINE BERNADOS COLLECTED PROVIDED AT ANY TIME TO MR. KORBEL AND DID CHRISTINA APPRENTICE, ERIN DEMPSEY, CHRISTINE GRANADOS, AND GEORGE KORBEL READ AND UNDERSTAND THE CITY CHARTER.
UM, IS THERE ANY OTHER TESTIMONY BEYOND THOSE QUESTIONS? UM, NOT UNLESS SOMEBODY HAS A QUESTION FOR ME.
UM, WELL, ALL I CAN SAY IS THIS WAS A MISTAKE ON OUR PART.
UM, WE ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND THAT AS SOON AS WE UNDERSTOOD THAT FACT WE CORRECTED FOR IT AND THE MAPS WERE NOT DRAWN WITH CONSIDERATION FOR WHERE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS LIVE AT ALL WHATSOEVER.
I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT THE PRODUCT, UM, THAT SHOULD BE SELF EVIDENT.
UM, BUT I APOLOGIZE IF THIS CAME ACROSS, UM, IN, IN ANY KIND OF WAY TO MANIPULATE DISTRICTS, THAT WAS ABSOLUTELY NOT THE INTENTION AND WE'RE NOT MOVING FORWARD IN THAT WAY AT ALL.
SO WAS THAT INFORMATION EVER PROVIDED TO MR
UM, SO I APPRECIATE YOUR CONCERN ABOUT THAT.
IF YOU WANT TO, UM, ASK ANY FURTHER ABOUT THIS ISSUE, I WOULD REFER YOU TO OUR LEGAL COUNSEL, DAVID RICHARDS,
[00:45:03]
BUT I THOUGHT THAT'S WHY WE WERE HERE TODAY IS TO BE ABLE TO QUESTIONS.SO I GUESS THEN, YOU KNOW, I CAN TELL ME WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAD READ THE CHARTER OR UNDERSTOOD IT BEFORE THIS HAPPENED.
THE NEXT PERSON SCHEDULED TO SPEAK IS CHRISTIE CLEVELAND FROM DISTRICT ONE AND ADDRESS THE COMMISSION.
ARE YOU ABLE TO HEAR ME THIS WEEKEND? OKAY, GREAT.
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU'VE DONE THIS FAR.
UM, I KNOW IT'S SUCH A DAUNTING TASK AND I RESIDE IN DISTRICT ONE.
UM, OVER THESE SHORT NUMBER OF YEARS COMPARED TO MANY OTHERS, UH, I'VE HAD THE PLEASURE TO MEET MANY NEIGHBORS AND, UM, THROUGHOUT MANY NEIGHBORHOODS THROUGHOUT DISTRICT ONE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO USE MY VOICE TONIGHT TO ASK TO HOLD THE D THE D ONE WESTERN BOUNDARY STRICTLY TO
SO THEN IT DOESN'T GO OVER
UM, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE LBJ COMPLEX AREA AT THE UT DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, SPECIFICALLY, THE FORMER BRACKENRIDGE SITE IS PART OF DOWNTOWN.
THIS IS NOT EAST AUSTIN AND THIS AREA WEST OF
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. CLEVELAND, DO ANY OF OUR COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS? OKAY.
THANK YOU, SHAREPOINT IS THERE ARE NO MORE SPEAKERS SCHEDULED OR SILENT.
UM, I'M GOING TO HAVE MATT, UH, RE CHAIR OUR SCREEN, UM, SO THAT WE CAN FINISH UP FOR TONIGHT.
JUST ONE MOMENT, Y'ALL WORKING WITH A COUPLE DIFFERENT COMPUTERS HERE THIS EVENING.
WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOU SO THAT YOU CAN SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY, NEIGHBORS, OR IF YOU WANT TO COME TO, UM, ANOTHER FORM, IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL INPUT.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE JUST ONE MORE FORUM, THIS, UM, THIS ROUND, UH, FOR THE PRELIMINARY MAPS.
UM, THIS IS ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, THIS COMING SATURDAY AT THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY CENTER AT OAK HILL, STARTING AT 11:00 AM AND AS IS REQUIRED BY THE CITY CHARTER.
WE HAVE, UH, HELD A PUBLIC FORUM IN EACH OF THE FOUR TRAVIS COUNTY PRECINCTS SO THAT WE ARE GEOGRAPHICALLY ACCESSIBLE TO ALL OF AUSTIN.
AND I JUST WANT TO SAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING THIS EVENING.
AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS FOR US, THIS EMAIL ADDRESS ON YOUR SCREEN WILL GO TO ALL 14 COMMISSIONERS I C R C DOT COMMISSIONERS AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
I HOPE Y'ALL HAVE A GREAT EVENING.