Sunday, May 8, 2011

The Dallas City Council Redistricting Map: 05/07/11 version

This 05-07-11 version of the Dallas City Council Redistricting map reflects the input of many dozens of people. At the same time, gerrymandering continues to be lessened. Here is the statistics page with an explanation for where the design process on this particular map stands. Public input is still needed and critical! Click on this image to make it larger:

Here is the map with the boundary lines shown that give the above statistics for each Dallas City Council District. Again, click on it for a larger copy.
Your questions and comments are welcome. This map must continue to be improved now that it appears to have met the population and ethnic distribution goals for each of the 14 Dallas City Council Districts. Balance will be the challenge as every change needs multiple more changes to achieve balance once again. Please let me know your concerns, especially if you see any errors.

Please also come to one or more of the Dallas City Council Redistricting Committees twice weekly meetings in various places in Dallas. You can find that schedule at http://www.dallascityhall.com/Redistricting/pdf/public_hearings.pdf . There are meetings every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 7 to 9 pm until May 24th. The public is strongly encouraged to attend.

I am in this process only as a private Dallas citizen and only represent myself in these postings. I've seen the damage of gerrymandering in Dallas for too many decades. It must be stopped! Only active citizens, angry enough to vote accordingly, can do that! While our children have been fighting and dying in foreign lands to protect peoples right to democracy, we are letting that same democratic process be damaged constantly right here in Texas. We owe a debt to our children to fix things here in Texas, especially for our children who have already died fighting for democracy elsewhere!

Bill Betzen, bbetzen@aol.com