WASHINGTON– Congressman Gene Green and other Texas Democrats have filed suit in Austin to oppose the GOP-drawn redistricting map. The issue has been added to the Legislature’s Special Session by Governor Perry.
Green seeks to create a second new congressional district that would “recognize the huge increase in the Hispanic population.”
Texas Democratic Congressional Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), Gene Green (TX-29), Lloyd Doggett (TX-25), Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18), Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15), Silvestre Reyes (TX-16), Charlie Gonzalez (TX-20), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), and Al Green (TX-09) released the following statement on Republican efforts in the Texas state legislature to dilute Hispanic and African-American representation through the redistricting process:
“The congressional redistricting map unveiled yesterday by Republicans in the state legislature is the clearest example of Republicans’ deliberate attempts to dilute Hispanic and African-American representation in Texas. Despite the fact that Texas’s minority population has grown substantially over the past decade, becoming the state’s majority population, the Republican proposed map suppresses their influence.
“While nearly 90 percent of Texas’s growth over the last decade was due to population growth among Hispanics, African-American, and Asians, state Republicans allocate no additional seats where these Texans have the ability to influence the outcome of an election. These efforts by Republicans are nothing more than a concerted attempt to deny every Texan the power of one person one vote over the next decade. This is retrogression, plain and simple. This deliberate attempt to silence the voices of such a large segment of our population is contrary to our American ideals, and should be resoundingly rejected by all Texans.
“Texas is a richly diverse state, and the new congressional map should reflect the large influence of Texans of Hispanic, African-American, and Asian descent, not weaken their voices. Our state’s gains in congressional seats are the direct result of minority growth, and the new congressional map should reflect this reality.”
