County schedules re-vote on redistricting map

"Please represent the will of your constituents and not merely of Will Conley."

Editor's Note: County Judge Bert Cobb's Chief of Staff Lon Shell has confirmed that the commissioners court's vote this week to adopt the county's new redistricting Map M2 will be revisited at next Tuesday's Aug. 23 commissioners court meeting. "The item will be posted as discussion and possible action to ratify and confirm the court's adoption of map M2 . . . to make sure the item is clarified that the item is open for action," Shell said.

Almost immediately after the conclusion of Tuesday's, Aug. 16, public hearing and the court's 3-2 vote to adopt Map M2, court observers began pointing out a technical legal failure in procedure – the public hearing was never officially opened by County Judge Bert Cobb for possible action, and a vote. Hence, next week's re-vote. Shell said the confirmation vote will be posted under the court's miscellaneous agenda items. The procedural glitch has caused some citizens to begin lobbying commissioners anew for a change in their vote, to support the more popular Map O. Fyi, to the curious, Pct. 3 Commissioner Will Conley, R-Wimberley, is making it perfectly clear that the court's vote is not going to change.

Here's one open letter sent yesterday to Conley from Wimberley area resident Barbara Hopson . . .

Send your comments and questions to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Lon Shell at lon.shell@co.hays.tx.us, to Judge Cobb at bert.cobb@co.hays.tx.us, 512.393.2205, to Commissioner Conley at will.conley@co.hays.tx.us, 512.847.3159, to Ms. Hopson at hopsonbarbara@yahoo.com, or click on the "comments" at the bottom of the letter

Will Conley

Dear Commissioner Conley,

I understand that the vote taken by the commissioners to choose a redistricting map was not valid because of a procedural error. If that is indeed so – and when the judge and commissioners vote again on the plans – I urge you this time to vote for Plan O.

If you truly do represent your constituents, you will vote for Plan O because:

1) 12 of the 14 speakers (including me) at the final public hearing supported Plan O;

2) Plan O is fairer to Precinct 3 than is Plan M2 because Plan O has Precinct 3 at only 817 fewer people than the Ideal Number of 39,277 people, while Plan M2 has the precinct at 1815 people under the Ideal;

3) Plan O keeps Hilliard Road residents in one precinct, while the Plan M2 boundary runs right down the middle of that street; and,

4) Plan M2 has the highest Total Deviation (9.44%) of the four maps discussed and has the second-highest Total Deviation of all the maps considered for this redistricting. Plan O has only 5.55% Total Deviation, nowhere near being likely to trigger a Department of Justice review.

Please represent the will of your constituents and not merely of Will Conley.

Sincerely,
Barbara Hopson, Wimberley