Fort Worth officials have been working to expand its current eight-district map to a 10-district map. Redistricting task force chair Sal Espino said in a Feb. 1 work session that the map will be in place for the next 10 years. The city is working on new council boundaries ahead of the May 2023 election.
The recommended map, originally drafted by Pablo Calderon, meets all redistricting criteria set by City Council, Espino said. He added that minor adjustments have been made so as not to split the Como, South Hills and Rosemont neighborhoods.
Priorities in map selection include ensuring each district is roughly the same size, alongside compliance with federal and state law related to voting rights. In addition, the city is working to create minority opportunity districts, contain communities of interest within single districts and create districts with contiguous territories.
Five minority opportunity districts are included in the recommended map, according to Espino, with Hispanic and Black residents having “strong” opportunities for election. Ninety-one percent of communities of interest, such as the Riverside neighborhood, are also kept within single districts, according to the map.
“It’s not an easy process,” Espino said. “Because you are working on the latest updated census data, but you’re working on maps that have deep consequences for really what we call our representative form of government.”
The task force also recommended that City Council consider revising the map by placing the Como and Stop Six neighborhoods in “districts preferred by their neighborhood leaders.” However, Espino said the task force was only permitted to make “tweaks” to maps and not substantial changes.
“I expect the council—as is their right—will continue to make changes to the map, and there will be further public input,” Espino said.
A proposed map is expected to be produced by City Council on Feb. 15, with a final map being produced on March 22. Fort Worth City Council is expected to adopt a new map on March 29.
Details on the meetings ahead of adoption, which include opportunities for public comment, can be found here.
