Democratic Volley in Texas Mapping War

[Judi Lynn]

December 11, 2003

THE NATION

Democratic Volley in Texas Mapping War
Court papers claim GOP aides in Washington led vote to redraw districts. Trial of case starts today.


By Scott Gold, Times Staff Writer


DALLAS — On the eve of a trial that could affect the balance of power in Congress, Democrats filed court papers Wednesday purporting to show that a vote to draw new congressional maps in Texas was not a local initiative but a coup orchestrated out of Washington.

The documents represent the latest volley in a public-relations war that has sizzled since Republicans took control of the Texas House last year and drew new congressional maps friendly to GOP candidates.

A coalition of Democratic Party advocates, minority organizations and local officials from across Texas filed a lawsuit charging that the new maps represented an abuse of power that disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of voters.

This morning, the dispute moves into a courtroom in Austin, where federal judges are scheduled to hear the case.

The documents released Wednesday included memos and e-mails written by GOP aides in Washington. They were obtained by Democrats after the November deposition of a top aide to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), the recipient of several of the memos.

The papers showed, among other things, that Republican aides in Washington differentiated between a map that was proposed by lawmakers in Texas and "our plan" — a more ambitious version designed to solidify the GOP majority in Congress. (snip/...)

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-texas11dec11,1,2857396.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

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[Judi Lynn]

1. Article from the Dallas News:

Texas redistricting challenge goes to court today
Texans in poll split on special sessions, opposed to remap fight


11:15 PM CST on Wednesday, December 10, 2003

By WAYNE SLATER and GEORGE KUEMPEL / The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, surrounded by a battery of aides, fled a political fund-raiser Wednesday and eluded reporters seeking to question him on the eve of the federal trial on congressional redistricting.

With a security aide blocking reporters, the congressman scurried down a narrow stairway and escaped in a waiting car.

Mr. DeLay was in Austin to collect campaign contributions at a noon luncheon hosted by lobbyists.

Reporters had wanted to ask the GOP leader about his role in the months-long legislative battle to redraw congressional boundaries to increase the number of Republican seats from Texas in Congress.

A new Texas Poll published Wednesday indicates that most voters believe that the protracted redistricting effort, in which lawmakers were called back for three special sessions, was a waste of time and money. (snip/...)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/tsw/stories/121103dntexremappoll.7605c.html

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[Gman]

2. Why the GOP does all it's dirty work in off-election years explained

Perry: "I have a very good idea that about a year from now, no one except political partisans are even going to remember redistricting."