City Of San Antonio: Councilwoman Cabello Havrda Highlights The Importance Of Soft Factors In Redistricting Process

Press release from the City of San Antonio:

October 7, 2021

CONTACT: Victor Landa
Victor.landa@sanantonio.gov

SAN ANTONIO (October 7, 2021) – During Wednesday’s City Council briefing on the upcoming redrawing of council district boundaries, Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda urged City staff to keep communities of interest in mind as they trace lines on the city map. The City’s redistricting criteria states that City Council District geographical boundaries will be redrawn to maintain relatively equal population across districts. In addition to having City Council district plans that are relatively equal in population size, other factors to consider will be to have identifiable boundaries, maintain “communities of interest” and neighborhoods, use whole voting precincts and be compact and continuous.

The redistricting process is required by the City Charter after each decennial Census. City staff, in coordination with the Mayor’s Office, will form a citizens’ advisory committee that will guide the boundary redrawing process with community input.

“I want to ensure that we’re keeping neighborhoods together,” said Cabello Havrda. “Statistics and goals are important, but we must also take into account the soft factors that define a community.”

Communities are defined by schools, places of worship, parks, and neighborhood businesses. And while the redistricting process is well served by deviation percentages and statistical analysis there are important aspects of district boundary design that can only be gained with citizen input.

“I’m encouraged that we’ll be forming an advisory committee to guide the redistricting process. We only get one opportunity to get this right, and the community’s insights regarding soft boundaries will prove to be invaluable.”

This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.