Tuesday's Internet Edition, September 07, 2010.
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| THE LATEST map keeps Copperas Cove, Fort Hood and Killeen together, but puts Congressman Chet Edwards in another district. |
News editor - In the latest redistricting map, the Central Texas counties of Bell, Coryell and Lampasas would be lumped into an east-west District 17 that stretches from Mills County in West Central Texas to Cherokee County in East Texas.
Killeen, currently in District 11, which is represented by U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, would be in District 31, which includes part of McClennan County and snakes east of Bell County through Milam County and takes up all of Williamson County in another east-west type of district.
Copperas Cove Independent School District Board of Trustees President Joan Manning isn’t pleased with the new rendition. “I obviously don’t like it because it’s taking Chet Edwards out of our district,” she said.
Manning said Edwards has done so much for this community and the military. “He understands our concerns,” she said. “It’s obvious what they are trying to do — take Chet Edwards out of the mix.”
CCISD Superintendent Dr. Glenn Acker is scheduled to testify at the redistricting hearing in Waco on July 9 at 1 p.m.
The hearing was planned by State Senator Kip Averitt and the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence. Although the Committee did not originally plan to meet in Waco, Averitt requested a hearing to ensure that the concerns of central Texans could be carefully considered.
“Central Texans deserve a voice in this process,” Averitt said. “We have unique communities of interest and our concerns need to be heard. As always, I remain fiercely committed to keeping McLennan County whole and protecting Central Texas,” he said.
The author of the map, Republican Rep. Kent Grusendorf of Arlington, said his plan is a fair one. He said it will allow for effective rural representation and improve on a previous Republican map by ensuring minority communities in Waco are not divided.
Any redistricting plan must get approval from the Department of Justice that it is fair to minorities under the federal Voting Rights Act. New congressional lines also would likely be challenged in court.