As Dallas City Officials Take on Redistricting, a Delicate Balancing Act Between Competing Interests Comes to Light

Following an exhaustive public input and review process, officials with the Dallas Redistricting Commission have narrowed their scope to two preferred maps – and the one that makes the final cut could dictate boundary lines for the city’s 14 districts over the next decade.

The final map selection is tentatively set for a day-long workshop on May 10 in the Dallas City Council chambers. 

Once a map is selected by the redistricting commission it will be presented to the mayor, said Redistricting Commission Chairman Jesse Oliver. 

Why are we redistricting?

Redistricting is conducted every 10 years to rebalance the population between districts. Dallas City Council-appointed commission members have held numerous public meetings to gather feedback, and other community representatives have been tasked with drawing and submitting maps depicting proposed new boundary lines. The final maps must be approved by the Dallas City Council and the U.S. Justice Department. 

Many of those involved have spoken about the importance of the process. When done right, advocates say that redistricting helps guarantee equal voter representation. It aims to avoid inequitable representation or gerrymandering, which is defined as “dividing a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.” 

A History of Gerrymandering

One community representative says previous district maps badly gerrymandered Dallas minority voters, splitting up traditionally black or Hispanic neighborhoods into different districts, thereby diluting their voting power.

“I watched Dallas adopt single-member districts finally in 1991 after a 20-year battle led by many friends of mine,” said Bill Betzen, a retired social studies teacher who presented the City of Dallas redistricting map version COD-038 for Commission consideration last month. Single-member districts are those represented by one officeholder versus a larger multi-member district represented by many. Dallas had at-large members until the 1970s when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled them discriminatory and unconstitutional.

“The problem is that the city created a district map in 1991 that had all minority districts terribly gerrymandered so as to weaken minority leaders and make them more dependent on North Dallas money for campaign cash needed to run in a terribly gerrymandered district. I also spent hundreds of hours in 2011 on redistricting, trying to eliminate gerrymandering. We were somewhat successful in spite of City Council,” Betzen said.

It’s key, Betzen said, to attempt to keep current office-holders eligible for re-election in their existing districts to ensure consistent representation. 

“Beyond that,” he said, “Change is normal.” 

Texas Rep. John Turner (D-Dallas) said redistricting appears to be a more efficient process at the local level than at the state level. 

“Nobody likes this process,” Turner said. “But at the city level, it’s not partisan; you have a commission designated to oversee it, and you have a lot more time for review.” 

Turner is not seeking re-election and will complete his term at the end of the year. Due to redistricting, his home was drawn out of his area of representation — District 114, which, until the new boundaries take effect, includes the Dallas neighborhoods of Lake Highlands, Hamilton Park, Preston Hollow, and Midway Hollow. 

Those critical of the current city of Dallas process say it hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park. Many were not aware that redistricting was occurring until the process was well underway, and those who don’t speak English or don’t have internet access are limited in their abilities to stay informed.

If It Ain’t Broke …

At an April 11 public hearing, several redistricting commissioners advocated for minimal change to the existing boundaries. 

District 10 Commissioner Alan Walne said his priorities are to maintain racial diversity, current neighborhoods, and a “small-town feel in a big city, Lake Highlands, Texas.”

“Basically, what it comes down to is don’t fix what’s not broken,” Walne said of his Northeast Dallas district. “What you see are very minor tweaks because you don’t have huge population differences that need to be adjusted.” 

District 12 Commissioner Jonathan Neerman took a similar approach. 

“The overwhelming issue we heard from constituents in District 12 is the request not to split Campbell Green Homeowners Association and Highlands North Homeowners Association, which means not using Campbell Road as the proposed southern boundary,” he said of the area near Coit and Campbell roads in Far North Dallas. 

Commissioner Barbara Brown Larkin said District 13 residents don’t want their boundary lines touched at all. 

“For the most part, what we’re hearing from various homeowners’ associations is they would like to keep the boundaries consistent with where they currently are,” she said, noting that there is a particular concern about keeping private schools and economic diversity within her district which includes the Private School Corridor of Jesuit, Ursuline, Hockaday, and St. Marks. 

But it was residents of District 14, which includes Lower Greenville, East Dallas, and parts of Uptown and Downtown, that spoke the loudest at the April 11 public hearing. Thirteen homeowners signed up to address the commission, and all voiced support for maps COD-026 and COD-029. While 026 was moved forward for further consideration and ultimately revised into Map 041, Map 029 was left on the cutting room floor. Both maps were submitted by landscape architect Melanie Vanlandingham. 

“Some of the maps that have been presented suggest a radical redrawing of our boundaries,” said Olive Talley, a Prospect Avenue resident. “I don’t think that’s necessary, and I actually think it’s wrong. Your work directly impacts people’s lives. There’s no reason to carve us up and every reason to keep us intact. When District 14 is strong, the city is strong.” 

The Hollywood/Santa Monica Neighborhood Association in East Dallas has encouraged residents in the area to voice their support of what is now Map 041.

“The Dallas Redistricting Commission is currently working to redraw council district lines — a change that will last for at least the next 10 years and affect how Hollywood/Santa Monica is represented on city council,” residents were told in an April 20 email from the neighborhood association. “While our neighborhood, along with several other conservation and historic districts, is currently located in District 14, the district needs to ‘lose’ approximately 10,000 residents to meet the 93,000-resident threshold that is the target population for each district. As a neighborhood on the outskirts of District 14, there is potential for Hollywood/Santa Monica to be removed from our current district.”

Ed Zahra, a Valencia Street resident, has lived in District 14 since 1974. He has served on the board of the Hollywood/Santa Monica Neighborhood Association for more than 41 years and has volunteered on several boards and commissions. 

“My involvement with the quality of life in the City of Dallas is pretty extensive,” he said. “I understand the need to tweak our city council districts to balance them for diversity and population growth, but there is absolutely no reason to radically carve up District 14.”

Several plans were submitted by educated people who put in countless hours to volunteer their time, Zahra added. 

“It takes citizen involvement to get to City Hall, because there’s so much bureaucracy,” said Zahra, who also is involved in discussions with the city involving policies on short-term rentals in single-family districts. 

“The East Dallas crazy people, as a collective group, we jump in and fight,” he said. “Neighborhoods these days are pretty powerful. The voices of neighborhoods don’t just get pushed aside. We’re caretakers of our neighborhoods.” 

The other map that made it to the final two — Map 017 — dissects District 14 into three parts and moves Woodrow Wilson High School into District 9, Zahra said. In his preferred version, everybody north of Mockingbird gets moved out, because, ultimately, somebody has to go. 

“They don’t share the historic neighborhoods,” Zahra said of the area that was drafted out of District 14 in Map 041. “What Melanie and Darren [Dattalo] did on their maps is they went into each of the neighborhoods and they massaged them and took off a little here and a little there, from the bottom up,” he said. 

Residents can continue submitting public comments, and more hearings will be held prior to the final commission selection on May 10.

More Feedback

Redistricting is a matter so complex that it’s challenging to cull it down to just the basics. The common refrain from residents is to not mess with their neighborhoods; the echo from redistricting commissioners and elected officials is that they’re listening to the public feedback and carefully considering it.

“The goal of redistricting is to rebalance the populations between districts, which is dramatically necessary in Dallas,” Betzen said. “District 14 surrounding the north side of downtown had grown to 106,927 while District 1 in North Oak Cliff was at 77,916, I do not know if District 1 had lost population or simply had not grown like the rest of Dallas. Knowing the area, I believe it is close to the population that District 1 had a decade ago.”

Betzen proposed and supports map COD-038 because he believes it gives Dallas the strongest minority representation. It was not flagged by the commission for further consideration. 

Just three maps were originally listed as the city’s preferred plans: COD-017, submitted by Redistricting Commissioners Randall Bryant (District 8), Bob Stimson (District 1), and Roy Lopez (District 2); COD-40, submitted by Commissioner Domingo Garcia (District 5), and COD-041, submitted by landscape architect Melanie Vanlandingham and Realtor Darren Dattalo. COD-40 was removed from the list last week.

“The current District 1, although it is the most compact district in the current map, is comprised of two fairly distinct sections, North Oak Cliff and West Oak Cliff,” Stimson said. “The North Oak Cliff section, the area that I’ve tied into downtown on Map COD-17, is comprised of a series of neighborhood associations that have worked together for years on issues ranging from public safety, code enforcement, and the revitalization of the area. They have jointly created and implemented the Bishop Davis Land Use Study, the Oak Cliff Gateway, the Jefferson Street Planned Development District, and the Fort Worth Avenue Planned Development District. Their efforts have spurred the development and redevelopment projects of the Bishop Arts District, Jefferson Boulevard, and most of the major thoroughfares in North Oak Cliff. At the same time, they have protected the single-family communities through the creation of historic districts, conservation districts, and a number of other zoning overlays. 

“The West Oak Cliff area is also comprised of a number of neighborhood associations that are just now starting to deal with many of the issues that North Oak Cliff has faced,” Stimson added. “These neighborhoods, in conjunction with the city’s planning department, are currently finalizing the West Oak Cliff Area Plan that will guide the future redevelopment of this area.”

Mapmaking

Jeff Kitner, chief operating officer of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce, volunteered his skills as a map author, submitting COD-10, COD-37 (co-authored with professional services consultant Rudy Karimi), and COD-43.

“District 11, where I live, is unlikely to change much, so I thought I would be in a good position to try to draw some data-based, objective maps which attempt to take into consideration many competing factors,” Kitner said.

Other Dallas residents, including Sophie Kitner, James McDowell, Sarah Evans, Desi Tanner, Ryan Moore, William Hoyt, Patricia Simon, District 14 Redistricting Commissioner Norma Minnis, former District 14 Dallas City Council representative Philip Kingston, former Dallas ISD Trustee candidate Omar Jimenez, and former District 7 Dallas City Council representative Kevin Felder also submitted their handiwork for consideration by the commission. 

Dallas residents can submit public comments on their preferred boundary changes. 

“I support a few different maps — including the three I authored or co-authored,” Jeff Kitner said. “Generally, I prefer maps which best balance the often-competing interests of maintaining a low population, having natural boundaries, keeping neighborhoods together, increasing compactness, and [those] that accurately represent the racial demographics of the city.” 

Most of the input seems to be generated by residents of the districts close to the center of the city, Kitner added. 

“This makes sense, because these areas do not have natural borders with other municipalities, and are harder to draw,” he explained. “Additionally, the current District 14 is overpopulated based on census data, so some residents will have to be drawn into another district to ensure a more even population variance.  Drawing proposed new Districts 14, 2, and 1 was the most challenging part for me.  District 11, for example, has seen less citizen interest because it isn’t likely to change significantly.  This is because the district is close to the correct population number and there are already some logical boundaries like Central Expressway, as well as other municipalities like Addison and Richardson.”

Those involved appear to agree on one thing: The voices of Dallas residents are the most important. 

“The public must win,” Betzen said. “More compact districts will increase voter turnout and allow the public to hold their politicians more accountable.”

Archived footage of hearings on the matter and other related documents are posted on the city’s redistricting website.

Residents are invited to submit public comments online or attend a public hearing to contribute to the ongoing dialogue. Upcoming meetings are scheduled at 3 p.m. May 7, at 3:30 p.m. May 9, and tentatively at 9:30 a.m. May 10 at Dallas City Hall.