HK: Redistricting could either be pro-forma or a Legislative Redistricting Board power play
A political mentor and legislative strategist once laughingly said “Never attribute to coincidence that which can be explained by conspiracy.” It is not an absolute rule of thumb but has been a helpful tool through the decades of watching Texas government. We recently mused about the role of the new Texas Senate Redistricting Committee when Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced committee assignments. The narrative under the Dome was that there would be minor retooling sufficient to require the Senators to have to redraw lots to determine whether they would face re-election in two or four years. Some of the Lite Guv’s allies wanted two-year terms so they would have a free ride to run statewide in the 2026 midterms.
Staff
Writer
A political mentor and legislative strategist once laughingly said “Never attribute to coincidence that which can be explained by conspiracy.”
It is not an absolute rule of thumb but has been a helpful tool through the decades of watching Texas government.
We recently mused about the role of the new Texas Senate Redistricting Committee when Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced committee assignments.
The narrative under the Dome was that there would be minor retooling sufficient to require the Senators to have to redraw lots to determine whether they would face re-election in two or four years. Some of the Lite Guv’s allies wanted two-year terms so they would have a free ride to run statewide in the 2026 midterms.
The Legislature is mandated to redraw its districts in the first Regular Session after the Census which, because of Presidential interference and covid slowing down the distribution of census data, was not delivered in time to the Legislative Council during the last regular session. That makes this session the first regular session following publication of the census, requiring a largely pro-forma set of adjustments to the maps.
However, it does potentially open a can of worms. Just imagine if the Senate rejected the House map and forced it to the Legislative Redistricting Board comprised of the Lt. Governor, Speaker, Attorney General, Comptroller and Land Commissioner. Back in the 2001 redistricting, the LRB did produce the final map, but not without several betrayals. The most significant was when then-Lt. Governor David Dewhurst offered the final amendment which had not been previously distributed to the Board. Speaker Pete Laney looked at it for the first time and realized that the amendment effectively drew a district he could not win.
Laney asked Dewhurst who had given him the amendment.
Dewhurst feigned ignorance saying that “someone” had just handed it to him. Of course, the origin of the amendment was Rep. Tom Craddick , R-Midland. Craddick had spent a decade working to win and then preside over a House Republican Majority and although appointed as chairman to important committees by Laney, the future Speaker definitely wanted the then-current Speaker out of the House. To their shame, the LRB voted 4-1 to accept the assassin’s unvetted amendment. So much for collegiality. Some who remember that history now worry that Patrick will engineer non-passage of the redistricting plans, forcing the issue to the LRB which has a presumptive Team Patrick majority, including Attorney General Ken Paxton and Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham . In contrast, Speaker Dade Phelan and Comptroller Glenn Hegar aren’t exactly Patrick acolytes. The concern among some is that with a Patrick majority, he would be free to re-write the House Map. It would be a daunting but not impossible task that could theoretically negatively impact Paxton and Buckingham, but it is possible. Given Patrick’s performance over the last few sessions, both he and Speaker Phelan should publicly take redistricting off the table and agree that this “pro-forma” repeat of redistricting be the number one priority of the session in order to get the potential poison out of the system. This legislative session has been given a financial gift that could profoundly impact the future of Texas. It would be a shame if that once in a generation opportunity was contaminated with redistricting politics on top of everything else.