Note: Attached are draft copies of redistricting maps for the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. They were forwarded by the District's administrative assistant Tressie Gumbert.
Just a slight observation -- both maps virtually are the same in appearance. Both disappointingly leave in place three "northern tier" director districts, all covering the high growth Hwy 290/Dripping Springs corridor. They represent a majority vote on the District's 5-member board of directors, and, at times a very different point of view than that coming from the southern two Districts, 4 & 5, over how to best manage and conserve the groundwater resources in western Hays. Good luck in trying to configure a map that will more fairly represent the south and the north. Sounds like a job for General Beauregard.
Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to the groundwater district's general manager at manager2@haysgroundwater.com, 512-858-9253, or click on the "comments" at the bottom of the story
Visit the groundwater district's website: www.haysgroundwater.com
From the District: The District's Redistricting Committee assisted with the drawing of Plan 1 (top map), Marty with the Hays County GIS Department drew up Plan 2. Redistricting will be discussed and voted on during next week’s (Thursday July 21) Board meeting. We will have full size copies of these maps along with our current Single Member District map on display at the Board Meeting. The full size maps are currently available in the District office for viewing.
Click on maps to enlarge
PLAN 1
PLAN 2
9 comments:
Of the Plan 1 and Plan 2 presented for HTGCD redistricting, Plan 2 is the better one.
The total population of HTGCD is 36,519 people. That means the Ideal number for each Precinct is 7,304 people (36,519 divided by 5 precincts).
Under Plan 1, Precinct 1 is 375 people OVER the Ideal, and Precinct 2 is 575 people UNDER the Ideal. Under Plan 2, Precinct 1 is 2 people UNDER the Ideal, and Precinct 2 is 28 people under the Ideal (Better).
Under Plan 1, Precinct 4 is 195 people UNDER the Ideal, and Precinct 5 is 196 OVER the Ideal. Under Plan 2, Precinct 4 is 6 people UNDER the Ideal, and Precinct 5 is 8 people OVER the Ideal (Better).
Plan 1 was drawn by HTGCD's own Redistricting Committee. Plan 2 was drawn by Marty of San Marcos GIS Department.
The HTGCD Board will vote to choose a plan at their meeting on Thursday, July 21.
Editor said... "both maps virtually are the same in appearance. Both disappointingly leave in place three "northern tier" districts, all covering the high growth Hwy 290/Dripping Springs corridor. They represent a majority vote on the District's 5-member board of directors, and, at times a very different point of view than that coming from the southern two Districts, 4 & 5, over how to best manage and conserve the groundwater resources in western Hays."
I am forever amazed at the amount of people that fail to understand the "Single Member District" theory and practice. There are 5 districts, each representing a near equal number of constituents in the District. It is important to realize that the HTGCD is not the whole County, only the western half which excludes the large populations along the I-35 corridor, since they are not part of the HTGCD. The apportionment of the 5 Districts is not based on geography or some mystical theoretical idea of factions or beliefs. It is simply based on contiguous populations. Each Board member is elected by the majority of voters in their districts and that is who they should represent.
Many liberals in the County or District have, for a long time, tried to separate and divide the electorate by imaginary boundaries (north v. south, etc.) to protect their smaller overall numbers and accentuate their concentrations. There appears to be a lot of voting liberals concentrated in the Wimberley Valley when the rest of the District is more conservative. That is likely to change over time as more conservative families are moving to the area.
The "Valley" is represented by 2 Board members with a more liberal slant due to the layout of the districts. The boundary between District 4 and 5 runs right through Wimberley and Woodcreek. As a conservative living in the Wimberley area I guess I could whine about there being 2 Board members representing this small nest of liberals, but I understand the system and I can wait.
The next meeting of the HTGCD is on Thursday, July 21 at 6.pm. at the Dripping Springs City Hall. The final agenda has not yet been set, but it is possible the directors will choose one of two proposed HTGCD redistricting plans. That plan would be in effect for the next years.
Above should say "for the next 10 years."
Sorry to be cynical, but Plan 1 for HTGCD redistricting is meant to favor 2012 candidates for HTGCD Board spots. Skipton's (Precinct 1)
and Key's (Precinct 3) places are up for re-election in May 2012, and so the map puts as much of the
conservative Dripping Springs population as possible into those 2 precincts. 585 people are taken from Pct. 2 (where Nesbitt is not up for re-election) and given to Pct. 1 (375 people) and Pct. 3 (158) people. The result is that all 3 precincts deviate from their Ideal numbers more than they do under Plan 2.
Likewise, Plan 1 has Pct. 4 with 195 people under its Ideal number, and Pct. 5 has 196 over the Ideal. Pct. 5 will vote next May.Whoever made the Plan 1 map wants Pct. 5 to have as many conservatives in it as possible.
Plan 2 is the better and more neutral HTGCD redistricting plan.
You can be as cynical as you want but in the end it won't matter since the majority of the Board will rule. Use either map 1 or 2 and in May of 2012 Skipton will win district 1 without any trouble and we don't yet know who the candidates for district 5 will be, since Dr. Jernigan may not run again, it could be interesting. If that liberal Wimberley bunch picks a hippie loon to run, it could cause a backlash and a moderate or conservative might emerge and win. The HTGCD population is shifting to more conservative every day.
Anon, July 19, 2 PM:
I disagree that "the HTGCD population is shifting to more conservative every day." We elected Democrat Patrick Rose to the Lege, and if he had not shown himself to be too developer-compliant we would not have ditched him in favor of a Republican, Jason Isaac.
I hope and think you are right that Wimberley is more liberal than Dripping Springs, but we believe in live and let live, and we don't think that "hippie" is a curse word.
At their meeting in Dripping Springs Thursday night (July 21), the HTGCD Board accepted Plan 2 for HTGCD redistricting. The vote was unanimous, 5-0.
In that meeting and more importantly, they also declared we are to be under a "Stage 3 Drought" condition, requiring a mandatory 30% cutback in water usage within the District. This is a serious situation requiring all citizens to save water in any way they can. Frankly, if your lawn or landscape plants don't survive without watering, maybe they don't belong here.
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