This article has been corrected since it was published on March 27.
110 from Southwest Austin apply to draw new boundaries
It may take until November 2014 or longer before Southwest Austin residents can elect one of their own to specifically represent them on Austin City Council.
Last November, Austin voters adopted single-member districts—a system in which council members are elected to represent specific areas of the city rather than the city at-large.
However, switching to geographic representation means having to appoint a commission to create voting districts, which then must be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice before anyone can run for office.
Creating the commission
Under the 10-1 plan, City Council would be made up of members from 10 voting districts and a mayor who represents everyone.
To create these voting districts, the city auditor's office plans to form the Citizens Redistricting Commission, composed of members from throughout the city.
Earlier this year, that office called for volunteers to serve on one of two groups: a three-member applicant review panel and the 14-member commission.
Eighty-one people applied for the review panel, but only 13 were qualified, according to City Auditor Kenneth Mory.
Qualified candidates must be licensed by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy, have at least five years of auditing experience and live in Austin. In March, Michelle DeFrance, Carol Feller and Caroline Limaye were selected.
As of Feb. 27, Mory received nearly 600 commission applications, including 110 from the seven ZIP codes in which Community Impact Newspaper delivers its Southwest Austin edition.
The panel will cut the list of qualified applicants to 60 and is expected to present the names to City Council on May 16.
On May 22, City Council is scheduled to randomly pick eight names. Those eight residents later choose six more from the list of 60 to ensure all areas of city are represented.
The city government has little involvement in the actual process of creating the new boundaries. City staff can help answer questions, but the commission must do its own research to draw the lines, Mory said.
Travis County issues voter registration certificates, the cards that list a voter's address and voting districts. The county must begin mailing the 2014–2015 renewal certificates by Nov. 5.
To meet that deadline, the county would need to have boundary line data approved by the U.S. Department of Justice no later than Aug. 1, according to Bruce Elfant, Travis County tax assessor-collector and voter registrar.
"This timeline allows my staff to redesign the certificate for the single- member district field and, more importantly, to load and audit the boundary line data and your [geographic information systems] staff to verify and approve the single member district lines," he wrote in a Feb. 26 letter to Mayor Lee Leffingwell.
Travis County staff said a November 2014 election could still occur and include single-member districts without having an up-to-date voter registration certificate, but then voters would have to use out-of-date information.
The outdated certificates would not include information about in which single-member district a voter lived—determining which candidates for whom a voter could vote.
Council representation
Until new council members are elected, Southwest Austin is represented by the current seven-member City Council.
Councilman Bill Spelman said that no one area is any more disconnected than another.
"None of us know the whole city, and in any given regional issue, there are two or three of us that know that part of town real well, and the rest of us are learning," he said.
Local activist Nan Clayton said she hopes geographic representation will improve City Hall's communication with the area.
"You have someone who you can contact who knows your schools, your economy and the conditions of your roads," she said.
Clayton said that advocates for the area such as councilmen Ben White and Dick Nichols have been exceptions, not the rule.
The area can act as a voting bloc, she said.
The Southwest area has three of the top 10 most populated ZIP codes—78745 (55,614 people), 78748 (40,651 people) and 78749 (34,449 people)—in Austin, according to the city demographer.
County and neighborhoods
Precinct 3 Commissioner Gerald Daugherty represents most of Southwest Austin in county government. He said traffic tops the list of residents' concerns.
Precinct 4 Commissioner Margaret Gomez said her constituents are concerned about taxes, Medicare and food prices.
Neighborhood associations such as the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods can advocate and take stands on issues.
"One of the 26 [homeowners associations or property owners associations] or other member groups will bring an issue for the agenda and then propose a resolution to OHAN membership for approval," President Jim Schissler said. "Each group gets one vote and the resolutions are typically approved."
Civic groups intend to educate voters.
"We have a vested interest in this area's quality of life," said John Rosshirt, president of the Oak Hill Business and Professional Association.
Additional reporting by Peter McCrady
