This is a story that goes back a while... as most of you know every 10 years a new census comes out, states gain or lose congressional seats and district lines get redrawn. In 2000, Texas gained seats and redrew the lines.. this was done by the then Democratic state congress.
Despite the fact that republicans gained seats in Texas in the 2002 elections (and took control of the House and Senate in the state), they decided it would be fun to redraw the lines again.. why? Well, it wasnt because Texas had gained new seats in Congress and NEEDED to redraw lines. It must have been because they wanted to... and what could republicans in this state want most?
Enter Austin, the city I live in. Austin is one of the most liberal cities in the nation. No Republican presidential candidate has ever carried Austin. Not even Reagan. Austin is a dirty word to the rest of the state (Im not kidding, our old Mayor ran for state office, and one of the ads against him did nothing but point out that he was the mayor of Austin). Several times, republicans have presented legislation trying to turn Austin into a district (like D.C.) that would be controlled by the state legislature.
In any case, Austins congressional representative has consistently been named as one of the most liberal congressmen in the country. Loyd Dogget was the target of this redistricting. Austin was cut into 4 parts.. each part was then lumped with a significantly larger population of conservative voters. Part went to San Antonio.. part runs all the way to the Texas coast. part goes most of the way to Houston and another part heads towards west texas. It was clear that Austin was being diluted to remove our voice in Congress. The 17th largest city in the United States no longer has a representative in Congress. Horay democracy.
One of the most liberal neighborhoods in the city (where I happen to live) was grouped with San Antonio. More or less, we are so terribly outnumbered that we have absolutely no chance to sway an election one way or another. Dogget is running in the district that runs to the coast, which includes east Austin. Most of his donations are still coming from Austin, outside of the district he is running in. It should be a very close election, but Dogget is very likely to lose.
In walks a rather dubious situation. A new massive apartment complex is going up in East Austin, this complex happens to be being built by a very well known democrat in Austin... in any case, I (along with nearly 1000 other families) might be renting an apartment for 5 dollars a month with a lease contract that ends november 3rd. From what I have been told this is not the only situation like this... I might be working to undermine democracy, but what are you gonna do?
Despite the fact that republicans gained seats in Texas in the 2002 elections (and took control of the House and Senate in the state), they decided it would be fun to redraw the lines again.. why? Well, it wasnt because Texas had gained new seats in Congress and NEEDED to redraw lines. It must have been because they wanted to... and what could republicans in this state want most?
Enter Austin, the city I live in. Austin is one of the most liberal cities in the nation. No Republican presidential candidate has ever carried Austin. Not even Reagan. Austin is a dirty word to the rest of the state (Im not kidding, our old Mayor ran for state office, and one of the ads against him did nothing but point out that he was the mayor of Austin). Several times, republicans have presented legislation trying to turn Austin into a district (like D.C.) that would be controlled by the state legislature.
In any case, Austins congressional representative has consistently been named as one of the most liberal congressmen in the country. Loyd Dogget was the target of this redistricting. Austin was cut into 4 parts.. each part was then lumped with a significantly larger population of conservative voters. Part went to San Antonio.. part runs all the way to the Texas coast. part goes most of the way to Houston and another part heads towards west texas. It was clear that Austin was being diluted to remove our voice in Congress. The 17th largest city in the United States no longer has a representative in Congress. Horay democracy.
One of the most liberal neighborhoods in the city (where I happen to live) was grouped with San Antonio. More or less, we are so terribly outnumbered that we have absolutely no chance to sway an election one way or another. Dogget is running in the district that runs to the coast, which includes east Austin. Most of his donations are still coming from Austin, outside of the district he is running in. It should be a very close election, but Dogget is very likely to lose.
In walks a rather dubious situation. A new massive apartment complex is going up in East Austin, this complex happens to be being built by a very well known democrat in Austin... in any case, I (along with nearly 1000 other families) might be renting an apartment for 5 dollars a month with a lease contract that ends november 3rd. From what I have been told this is not the only situation like this... I might be working to undermine democracy, but what are you gonna do?
