Dallas Hearing
By Byron LaMasters
I will be attending the Dallas redistricting hearing today. Friday saw the State Democratic Party chair accuse Republicans of rigging the subcommittee hearings in Dallas. The Dallas Morning News reports:
State Democratic Party chairwoman Molly Beth Malcolm said an e-mail by Collin County GOP chairman Rick Neudorff sent to fellow Republicans was proof that legislative hearings on redistricting are "nothing but a sham."
Mr. Neudorff said his e-mail was only an effort to rally speakers and help prepare them for Saturday's all-day redistricting hearing at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
The hearing is being conducted by a five-member panel of the House Committee on Redistricting. The hearings are part of a GOP-led congressional redistricting effort that will dominate a special session that begins Monday.
Mr. Neudorff said his efforts were similar to Ms. Malcolm's handiwork this week when she sent a mailing to Democrats with suggested wording for letters to the editor in local newspapers.
"I'm not trying to pull a fast one," Mr. Neudorff said.
In his e-mail sent Friday morning to supporters in Collin County, Mr. Neudorff asked for volunteers to testify at the hearings.
"You can either write your own testimony, or our retained [volunteer] group of speech writers will be happy to draft remarks for you," he wrote.
He said that if supporters planned to go, they should let him know, "as I will need to get you a place in speaking order AHEAD of time," he said.
Ms. Malcolm said the e-mail shows that "Collin County Republicans and perhaps even the committee itself are rigging the process."
Speakers, except for elected officials, are usually taken on a first-come, first-served basis at such committee hearings.
Posted by Byron LaMasters at June 28, 2003 02:19 AM
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