In a Texas House of Representatives hearing on Wednesday, Texas State Rep. Erin Zwiener criticized new GOP redistricting maps over concerns they will silence voters.
00:00To Mr. Speaker members, Mr. Speaker, could we get some order?
00:06There's a lot of chatter.
00:13Members, please take your conversations outside the rail.
00:17Members, I have never much liked the idea of legislators drawing politicians' districts.
00:25And that was a feeling that was affirmed by my first experience being in this body, helping draw districts.
00:34But one of the positives was being able to advocate for my constituents.
00:39And in particular, to be able to advocate for the I-35 corridor in Hayes County to stay whole.
00:48To be connected in its state house districts, its state senate districts, and its congressional districts.
00:56That's important because the I-35 corridor is a distinct community that is connected to itself.
01:08People in East Austin have family in Kyle and San Marcos.
01:14And those folks have family down in San Antonio.
01:18Now, I know there's been a lot of conversation about how wonderfully compact these new maps are.
01:25But the truth is, this new map is ripping apart a performing Hispanic Opportunity District,
01:33Congressional District 35, that runs up and down the I-35 corridor.
01:38It's going to take communities like Blanco Gardens and Victory Gardens, historic Hispanic communities in San Marcos,
01:48and fold them into a district that is over 60% white.
01:54It's going to take the voice of those constituents and effectively erase them, giving them no power in determining who represents them in Congress.
02:06And attaching them to counties that they have little relationship with, like Bandera, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr.
02:15Rural counties that don't have much in common with the rapidly growing and urbanizing I-35 corridor.
02:22It's also going to take fast-growing communities like Buda and Kyle and attach them to communities on the Gulf Coast,
02:33to Matagorda County, Aransas County, Nueces.
02:37It's going to take bedroom communities of Austin like Buda and Kyle.
02:42Communities where the industries are focused on tech, government, higher education,
02:47and connect them to more industrial communities that just don't share their interests.
02:54But most importantly, these maps are ripping apart Hispanic communities.
03:00And the lines don't even make sense.
03:03Travis Elementary School, part of San Marcos CISD, will be in Congressional District 27, just barely.
03:12But much of its attendance zone will be in Congressional District 21,
03:19and a little finger that stretches up between Post Road and the Blanco River.
03:24Why anyone thought that was a boundary that would make sense to the constituents of San Marcos, Texas, is beyond me.
03:31But the line is confusing and arbitrary and divides up communities.
03:35It means that Blanco Gardens will be in a different Congressional District than Blanco River Gardens.
03:45Neighborhoods that, again, share a community, share relationships, share a grocery store,
03:51will be in different Congressional Districts.
03:55And members, this is particularly important because Congressional District 35
03:59has been a performing Hispanic Opportunity District.
04:04We hear a lot of promises about this new map,
04:07but you don't know performance until the map is drawn on the ground,
04:11until elections actually happen.
04:17Congressional District 35 was court-ordered to be drawn as a Hispanic Opportunity District
04:23based in the I-35 corridor.
04:26And this body is about to disregard that court order
04:31and rip communities I represent apart.
04:36Remember, these maps also harm the black community along the I-35 corridor,
04:42not just the Hispanic community.
04:44Right now, Congressional District 35 is 13.9% black in voting age population.
04:50Now, parts of that district are going to get absorbed into Congressional District 37,
04:55Congressional District 21, and some will stay in 35.
04:59The highest black population in any of those districts is 10%.
05:03Congressional District 21 will be just 2.53%.
05:09That means our historic black communities in San Marcos
05:14that live along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
05:16are going to have no ability to link their voices
05:21with those of other constituents who share their identity and their history
05:25in order to have an influence on the electoral outcome.
05:29This map is destroying a district that has consistently been able to elevate the voices
05:39of people of color in choosing who represents them.
05:43So, members, I ask you to think about the harm that's happening.
05:45Think about the districts on the ground that are being ripped apart.
05:49Think about the constituents who are going to have members of Congress
05:54who have no reason to listen to them
05:55because these maps are drawn to marginalize their voices.
06:01Members, stand up for fair representation and vote no on this map.
06:06Mr. Speaker?
06:07Ms. Flores, for what purpose?
06:08Will the General Lady yield for questions?
06:10Will the Lady yield for questions?
06:11I will.
06:12The Lady yields.
06:12Thank you, Representative Sweeney.
06:15I understand your district, like mine,
06:18is within the current Congressional District 35.
06:21Is that correct?
06:22Yes, about 70% of my district is in Congressional District 35.
06:26And this is a strong Latino community
06:30and a strong Latino Opportunity District, is it not?
06:33Yeah, we have historic Hispanic communities all up and down the I-35 corridor
06:37from Ulan to Kyle to San Marcos to East Austin
06:42and, of course, down to San Antonio.
06:44And these are communities that, as I mentioned, share relationships.
06:46I was on the phone with my old chief of staff recently, who's Old Guard San Marcos,
06:52and he has cousins in East Austin and cousins in San Antonio.
06:55Are you familiar with Del Valley in my District 51 in Southeast Travis County?
07:01I'm familiar with the community, but I don't know it as well as you do.
07:03Well, as you might be aware, I represent two school districts.
07:08Del Valley ISD is in the community of Del Valley.
07:13And that's just east of the airport.
07:19I've been told by constituents, and our senator, Senator Safirini,
07:23is being called by constituents with concern
07:25that their school district is being split between two congressional districts.
07:32Their own school district is now going to be split
07:34between two different congressional districts.
07:36Are you aware of that?
07:37I wasn't aware of the specifics of Del Valley, but we're seeing those same concerns.
07:42San Marcos CISD is going to be split between two different districts,
07:45and even the attendant zones for some elementary schools
07:48are going to be divided between two districts.
07:51It doesn't make a lick of sense.
07:53And that community is a big Hispanic community,
07:57and those students in that school district are going to be torn apart.
08:01It's a community of interest, and they're going to be, you know,
08:04no longer be able to share a congressional representative.
08:09Don't you find that really troubling?
08:12I find it incredibly troubling.
08:14And I was looking over the map, you know,
08:16using some of the tools we have to look at the population,
08:20the Hispanic population in particular in that area.
08:22And when you're east of 35, I-35 in either Travis County or Hayes County,
08:28there is almost always, with a couple exceptions, a Hispanic plurality.
08:33And in most cases, a Hispanic majority.
08:36Those constituents should have the right to band together
08:38and elect the candidate of their choice just like they can
08:42in the current congressional district 35.
08:44Well, thank you, Representative Sweeney,
08:46for standing up for your constituents,
08:48for standing up for my constituents that are within
08:51that congressional district.
08:53And I'd also join you in urging everybody to vote no against this map.
08:58Thank you so much, Representative Flores.
09:00You know, members, the facts are clear.
09:02This map is going to rip apart
09:04performing minority opportunity districts.
09:08And the harm in my community is, it's going to be immense.
09:12So I urge you to vote no
09:14and keep these connected communities of interest along I-35
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