Dallas commission approves new district boundaries, but splits on whether it’s equitable

A Dallas citizen board tasked with redrawing City Council district boundaries for the next decade is sending elected leaders a new map that left group members split over whether it’ll foster more Black and Latino local government representation. Discussion at meetings Monday and Tuesday surrounding the final two draft maps centered on which would do a better job of helping create a more racially diverse Dallas City Council. In the end, the redistricting commission recommended map 41B, which makes some tweaks to boundary lines around the city, but largely keeps districts intact along existing lines. It was approved with a 9-6 vote by the commission Tuesday afternoon. “This is not a perfect map and I struggled with this vote,” said commissioner member Roy Lopez, who helped create an opposing plan that was ultimately rejected by the group. “But what map 41B does do, is it takes into consideration the sentiment of the people and organizations that chose to speak out.

“Who are we to go against the people?” said Lopez, an appointee from District 2, which covers parts of downtown and central Dallas.Early in the process, some commissioners seemed set on a goal to expand minority representation on the council. But in the end, the commission advanced a map that appears to support the status quo, especially when it comes to keeping intact the mostly white northern districts. Some commissioners appeared to be concerned that tweaking the map too much more could adversely affect the number of minority-controlled districts as gentrification leads to larger white populations in some of those areas. The 15-member redistricting commission has held more than two dozen public meetings since October, including an eight-hour session Monday where members were urged by many residents to restore shifted areas back into the districts they were moved out of in some proposals. The group approved the map and greenlit the forwarding of the recommendation to the mayor and City Council after meeting for five hours on Tuesday. The city realigns its council district boundaries every 10 years after the release of the most recent U.S. Census data to reflect the changes in population. A main goal is to make sure all districts have as close to an equal number of residents as possible to ensure fair representation.