Lawmakers react to GOP-backed redistricting plans
With the Texas Legislature meeting in a special session to discuss redrawing the state's congressional districts, Channel 5 News reached out to lawmakers representing the Rio Grande Valley.
Channel 5 News asked all the lawmakers where they stand on the issue, how they plan to vote on it, and what message they have to share to the community.
READ MORE: Lawmakers call for public hearing in the Valley over redistricting plans
Below are the respones Channel 5 News received.
Congressman Henry Cuellar
Right now, our focus should be on helping families recover from the floods in Hill Country – not partisan politics,” said Congressman Cuellar. “Redistricting right after a disaster sends the wrong message.
If the lines are redrawn, South Texas could lose critical representation on the House Appropriations Committee, which could mean fewer federal dollars coming back to our communities. That hurts everyone, regardless of party.
My focus is clear: I’ll keep fighting to protect your voice and ensure you’re not left behind.
U.S. Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz
Redistricting is a Texas state issue. Congresswoman De La Cruz was elected to serve Texas’s 15th District and remains committed to her work to deliver wins for Texans. In just her first seven months of her current term, Congresswoman De La Cruz has passed legislation to expand access to housing for disabled veterans, secured $280 million in aid for Texas farmers and ranchers, established a sterile fly facility in Hidalgo County to combat the spread of New World Screwworm, and worked alongside the Administration to secure the water Texans are owed under the 1944 Water Treaty. This is just the beginning, and the Congresswoman looks forward to building on these successes.
U.S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez
It was me and members of Congress in Washington, state members of Congress, who wrote a letter to the chair of both committees, on the Senate and House side of the redistricting committee asking and demanding for a hearing to be done here in the Rio Grande Valley, where 1.4 million people live that generate $40 million of Texas GDP. They deserve to have a voice while they are being raped out of their political representation. That is exactly what is happening in Austin right now. They're god from Washington called and our governor bowed again, bowed not just for us in South Texas but folks in Houston, in Dallas, in Austin and around the state to redistrict five Democrats into Republican seats, it's a clear power grab.
What they're trying to do is dilute the voice of regions, like South Texas, Latino and African American and women and other minorities from having representation in Washington. And what they're really trying to do is challenge the Voting Rights Act and they know if they redistrict us, that we're going to be filing a federal lawsuit in federal court and eventually that case will get to the United State Supreme Court and they're hoping that under this more conservative Supreme Court, that they're able to change the Voting Rights Act, specifically Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act that allows minority representation where districts were created to assure that the United States Congress looked like America. That is exactly what Governor Abbott and President Trump are trying to do in Texas. I never thought I would see a Texas governor bow to a New Yorker and sellout his Texas delegation.
I'm not even talking about Democrats on the delegation, I'm talking about selling out his own people, his own Republicans, they have not been allowed to look at the maps either, because they just want to shove it down their throats and that's what's happening at our Capitol and I think people in our region need to wake up. I know alot of people didn't see it coming last election and we're very supportive of this president but now they're seeing Latinos getting picked up on the streets, American Latinos, U.S. veterans getting picked up on the street. Medicaid, $400 billion of Medicaid cuts that are going to be heavily impactful here in South Texas, $500 billion of Medicare cuts that takes healthcare from our senior citizens, $300 billion in SNAP programs that takes Meals on Wheels for senior citizens and school lunch programs. They know after these horrible cuts have been made in the American budget that are very impactful in places like South Texas and 75 of the poorest districts in the country that are represented by Republicans, they know they are going to lose this midterm election and they know they will be in the minority in this next cycle.
So what they're doing is they're cheating. Since they can't win fair and square, they're getting Republican governors around the country, but specifically in Texas, to go in there, halfway through the decade and redraw the maps again in their favor, cutting the representation of districts in South Texas, in Houston, in Dallas and other places around the state.
This is a very, very rare move. Most presidents, Democrats or Republicans have never tried to do this. Most of them have been much more dignified and protected our democracy but this is going to have a response. You're going to see California and Minnesota and Maryland and, possibly, New York, do the exact same thing and it tears our democracy apart. I do not want to see Democratic states do that, but I don't want to see Republican states do it either. And if they do, there's going to be a response and at the end of the day, it hurts the American people and it hurts people from being able to choose representatives that they want.
What they're trying to do is choose their voters, they want republicans to choose their voters. I mean we have a Republican member of Congress right here in the Valley who she, felt under so much pressure, went and voted to cut $500 billion of Medicare for senior citizens and $400 billion of Medicaid for the district that uses the most Medicaid in the state of Texas, voted for that. Voted to cut $300 billion of SNAP programs in one of the poorest districts in the country. That is what they push their members, their Republican members, to do, even when it's against the interest of the population. Now they have an election, and they've been taking polls and they see the unpopularity that these votes have caused across the country and they know that they are going to lose and they are playing offense and they're cheating to try to keep it their way. All these cuts that they did that are hurting the American people and are hurting districts like ours in South Texas, more than others, they're doing it to give almost $3 trillion in tax cuts to the ultra wealthy billionaires and multi-national corporations in America.
What we can do at this point is get ready for next elections and come out stronger and harder than ever before. Right now, what you can do is call your governor and call your state senators and call your state representatives and tell them you oppose these measures and I know elected officials across the country always like to say that they're fighting for this or they're fighting for that, well this is a real fight. Real fight for democracy, a real fight for benefits of people in this region and it's time to fight, it's actually time to take the fight to the Capitol our friends on the other side of the aisle, if they are our friends, and tell them what you're doing is wrong, it's wrong for the country, it's wrong for democracy and it hurts communities, like ours in this region.
Texas State Senator Judith Zaffirini
I strongly oppose the current untimely, unnecessary, unfair and unconstitutional re-redistricting effort that purposefully would decimate Congressional Districts 9, 18, 29 and 33 because of their racial and ethnic composition. More specifically, the goal seems to be to replace the will of voters who are African American or Hispanic with those who are Anglo.
I plan to vote against re-redistricting for many reasons, but partly because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (in Bartlett v. Strickland) that purposefully dismantling districts like these because of their racial make-up that results in the election of minority-preferred candidates violates the 14th and 15th Amendments.
My message to the community follows: I encourage everyone to speak out; to testify at hearings (or submit written testimony); and to contact legislators and especially Gov. Greg Abbott, who placed this subject on the agenda for Special Session I. Our statewide leaders and legislators should focus on the critical issues of the day, not on unconstitutionally re-redistricting our Congressional districts while using outdated data from 2020 instead of waiting for the next U.S. Census in 2030 and the next redistricting in 2031. Equally important, the Texas Legislature should not be complicit in this intentional racial discrimination scheme and directive from the White House and from the U.S. Department of Justice. My prayer is that good judgment and fair play will prevail and that re redistricting will fail.
Representative Erin Elizabeth Gamez
The Legislature’s focus needs to be on helping the Texas families affected by the recent devastating floods, and making sure our local emergency response agencies have the infrastructure and funds they need to be better prepared for the next disaster.
As you are aware, Article 3 Section 28 of the Texas Constitution requires redistricting only after the census. Doing it mid-decade for pure political gain, and not in the interest of making sure Texans are adequately represented, is bad public policy. There are far more pressing needs facing Texans.
We have not seen the proposed congressional map yet. However, the people of Texas are not asking for redistricting. This is purely a political power grab, whose aim seems to be to dilute the strength of our Valley communities.
We have not seen the proposed map yet, so I cannot give a precise answer. However, our constituents deserve congressional districts that look like steaks — solid, cohesive, and reflective of real communities — not string beans that stretch hundreds of miles, dividing the Valley and stringing it together with areas north of San Antonio. Communities should be kept intact to ensure their voices are heard and unique needs effectively represented.
For years there has been a coordinated effort from outside of Texas to flood the Valley with millions of dollars, attempting to change our culture. Now that they know that we can’t be bought —they are trying to cheat to win by cutting our communities in half. What they will never understand, is that our Valley community is strong and we will never forget our roots.
Representative Armando Martinez
Let's be clear about something, redistricting is supposed to happen every 10 years after the census, that's the law and that's the custom. With no new census data, no court ordered mandate, the governor and his allies are purposing to redraw maps anyway. This is because Donald Trump wants more Republican seats and this isn't about fairness, this is about rigging the system. So the purposed changes is just something that will impact African American and Latino districts. It's something that people and the voters are able to chose their representatives and that's how democracy works best.
Here in Texas, that's not the case. You have these leaders that are doing a mid-decade redistricting plan that flips that basic principle, senseless data and voting to let the people, by the voters, it flips it on its head. So, this is ridiculous. This happened back in 2003 and a mid-decade redistricting session, where Tom DeLay was leading that and of course, he was indicted and out of office. So, this is just another power grab and disproportionately impacts Latino communities, it disproportionately impacts African American communities. This is just something that is not transparent at all.
Anytime you draw any lines, especially redistricting lines, it has a ripple affect on communities all around and districts all around. It's not just about oh, let's just make a simple tweak here or there, I mean you are going to have to redraw lines all across the state of Texas. Which makes it even worse, because we're not even in a regular session. A special session is only 30 days, so how do you have enough time to hear people testify? How do you have enough time to gather the data and information needed in order to redraw districts appropriately without violating the law.
It's going to have an impact on the Valley and it will have an impact across the state of Texas. So I think it's a situation where it can't be something that's drawn up in 10, 15, 20 days and passed out like ok this is the best plan ever because it's not. It takes a lot of time, it takes a lot of thinking. I've been in two redistricting sessions, where it took all Legislative session to where you gathered data, you gathered information from all Representatives, whether it's Republican or Democrat, you had people come up and testify and talk about the maps and the impacts, and this is not doing that. This is something that, just for a power grab, just to make sure you have enough seats and what's going to end up happening is now you're going to enrage states all across the country who are going to say 'well if you can do that, we can do that too as Democrats' and I think it's just wrong and I think it's gerrymandering districts and it just doesn't represent who we are, what we are and the people that we vote for.
Texas belongs to all of us. Not just those who draw the maps, not just those in power. So our voices need to be heard and people need to stand up and when we fight together we win. And when Texans show up, democracy shows up, and that is what this is about. It's about continuing to back Democracy, continuing to show that things need to be done right and transparent and support the legislative process, not just a power grab for one party to try to control and keep their power because they're losing it. When this happens in our state, and when it happens behind closed doors, I think people need to stand up and make their voices heard about this.
Representative Oscar Longoria
Redistricting is done immediately after the Census for a reason. Mid-decade redistricting is unnecessary, and it only further confuses voters and erodes public trust in our political system.
You can't answer questions about the impact of redistricting on the Valley without knowing what the proposal looks like. Currently, the map that will be considered has not been submitted.
Regardless of what the proposed map looks like, my number one priority is making sure that the Valley is protected and adequately represented during the redistricting process.
Representative Sergio Munoz
Mid-decade redistricting during a special session is completely unnecessary and inappropriate given the recent devastation in our state. I think our focus should be on providing resources and passing policies to improve our state’s ability to prevent, provide ample warning, and establish the necessary communications structure to respond to the growing natural disasters that occur – policies like we originally championed during regular session.
As an area that is continually underrepresented in the census, I think it’s unreasonable to presume that these new maps will benefit the Rio Grande Valley; nevertheless, regardless how the proposed maps will take shape, I’ll represent my district and prioritize the wellbeing of our region.
State Representative Janie Lopez
The US Department of Justice sent a letter to the State of Texas of serious concern regarding Congressional Districts TX-09, TX-18, TX-29, and TX-33, which currently constitute unconstitutional ‘coalition districts’ formed based on race. These concerns will be reviewed and addressed by the Texas Legislature during the First Called Special Session that began July 21st. As a State Representative, I remain committed to ensuring transparency and accountability throughout this process and represent the best interest of my constituents.
State Representative Terry Canales
Well the reality is that we already redistricted five years ago. We're mandated to redistrict every time there's a census. And so during that census, we're redistricted and in fact, there was a power grab then. They basically diluted District 15 and for the first time ever, we had a Republican congresswoman now and that was because of redistricting. The process of redistricting and drawing lines so you can gain seats is called gerrymandering and they gerrymandered the Valley so they can have a Republican congressperson in Washington and they were successful. Never before have we don midterm redistricting and basically, the governor and the leadership in Texas has caved to President Trump, whose numbers are dwindling, his pole numbers have dwindled and the Republicans have a slim majority in the congressional house. So what they are trying to do is they are trying to redistrict, at a time when we've never redistricted before during the midterms to gerrymander the Rio Grande Valley and slice it up to three, maybe four, new congressional districts that basically look like fajita strips that go all the way north create Republican districts. And so, the Valley would have two, three or possibly four new Republican Congressmen or woman that would represent the Valley. The concern is what they've done is they've diluted the actual population and based on who we are and so the Valley would essentially lose its voice in Congress to these highly gerrymandered districts that were designed just so Republicans can get elected and they can keep the very slim majority they have in the House of Representatives of Congress. It's unprecedented, it's wrong and my request is at the very least the special committee on redistrict should hold hearings in the Rio Grande Valley to at least hear the people. I don't know if it would make a difference because they have a majority in the Texas House and Texas Senate and they're going to do what they're going to do, but I would love for it to be on record, and there to be a record, a formal hearings, and I think that the Texas Legislature owes the respect to the Rio Grande Valley, to at least hear the people of this community, to at least hear the community leaders, to hear our elected officials. Speak on how not only is this unprecedented, unfair, but absolutely a miscarriage of justice."
"I would recommend they get out and vote because elections have consequences and the reality is this is the net effect of people not voting. Texas is not a Republican state and it's not a Democrat state, it's a non-voting state. The majority of people in this state don't vote but they love to complain. If you believe this is unfair, as I do, it's blatantly unfair and it's a blatant miscarriage of the legislative process. If you believe that and you're watching it and you see it, you get up and vote because there's no other way to change this outcome than going to the voter box and casting your ballot for people that actually will represent you, that will support the fact that the Rio Grande Valley deserves a true voice in the U.S. Congress and in the Texas Legislature.