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October 12, 2003

Senate Passes Map 17-14

By Byron LaMasters

The Austin American Statesman reports:

The Senate voted 17-14 Sunday on a Republican-backed plan to redraw the map for the state's congressional districts.

The vote, delayed since Friday while the House debated an unrelated bill, ends the legislative fight on redistricting that has been waged for six months. Democrats blocked redistricting three times, including a boycott from the House and a boycott from the Senate.

In the third special session called on the subject, Republicans found themselves fighting each other. Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, won his battle to create a district that could be won by someone from his hometown. That effort was opposed by other West Texas lawmakers, including Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock.

Creating the district Craddick wanted, however, caused a ripple effect through other districts and dire opposition from as many as four Senate Republicans on Friday. With that opposition, Senate Republican leaders began debate on the final map one vote shy of the 16 votes needed to pass it.

In the end, Sens. Teel Bivins, R-Amarillo, and Mike Jackson, R-La Porte, voted for the map.


In the end all 12 Democrats voted against this map along with two Republican Sens. Fraiser and Ratliff.

Posted by Byron LaMasters at October 12, 2003 08:09 PM | TrackBack

Comments

Karl was there and may be able to confirm this, but it seemed to me from watching the vote at home that Bivins's "aye" vote seemed a little less than enthusiastic (the clerk had to call the name twice, and the voice-vote was inaudible for TV viewers).

Contrast that to Sens. Shapleigh, Barrientos, and Gallegos, whose "NO" votes could be heard loud and clear.

That might have to do with the placement of microphones, but given that the clerk also had trouble hearing Bivins, it makes me wonder.

In any case, I feel that Craddick and Dewhurst both have expended (wastefully) a lot of political capital in the last few days. Especially Dewhurst, who certainly aroused a lot of House Republicans in driving through HB7.

Just read the Statesman's article.

Many House members bristled at the idea that the Senate was threatening to scuttle the redistricting bill if the House didn't pass House Bill 7.

Rep. Terry Keel, R-Austin, urged his colleagues to vote against the bill "and see if they've got the guts to vote down redistricting."

I'll be a nickle Keel won't be supporting Dewhurst in a contested primary.

Posted by: Jim D