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Home My WebLink About1981-09-03-0530PM-Special~l I ' The following citizens and officials were in attendance: Mike Stringer Marlene Muse Steve Gongora Jose Garza Henry Gongora Jesse Flores Glen Maxey Harold Eaton Otis Carter Ples Turner Barbi Tomlin Holly Mobley Tommie Pusar Olemuel Davis 0. T. Walton Angela McCoy Robert Bunting Jann Snell Julie M. Caddel Bill Meeks Glenda Meeks Glenn E. Schroeder Bill Brown D. H. Seastrunk Carey Cauley, Jr. Pam Jones Carl Jones KAGC News League of Women Voters League of United Latin American Citizens Mexican American Legal Defense LULAC Mexican-American Democrats Citizen National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP Bryan City Council WTAW Court Reporter NAACP Citizen Citizen Citizen Citizen The Eagle Courthouse Consultant The Eagle Citizen City of College Station Texas Instruments. Inc. Citizen NAACP Citizen Citizen The County Judge opened the meeting and announced the purpose COMMISSIONERS' COURT SPECIAL MEETING SEPTEMBER 3. 1981 A public hearing of the Commissioners' Court of Brazos County. Texas, was held in the Commissioners' Courtroom in the Courthouse in Bryan. Brazos County. Texas. beginning at 5:30 P.M., on Thursday, September 3, 1981. with the following members of the Court present: R. J. Holmgreen, County Judge, presiding: Bill J. Cooley, Commissioner of Precinct 1; Walter Wilcox, Commissioner of Precinct 2; Billy G. Beard, Commissioner of Precinct 3; W. A. Stasny, Commissioner of Precinct 4; Frank Boriskie, County Clerk. of the public hearing was to give citizens and Commissioners an opportunity to formally present reapportionment plans in Court. VOLP t . I i i r i= F: I" I. it VOLj PAG6AI~ The County Judge pointed out that several public workshops had been held by Commissioners Cooley and Wilcox who had been appointed by the Court to meet with interested citizens on redistricting. Commissioner Cooley presented a plan (Plan I) that included i a 53% minority population within a single Commissioner precinct, this being Commissioner Precinct Number 4 and consisted of existing voting precincts 3, 4, 14, 16, 18, 19, 29, 30 and parts of existing voting precincts 17 and 25. This plan changed 29,524 people from one Commissioner precinct to another and disenfranchised 12,063 of them for a period of six years. Commissioner Wilcox then presented two plans (Plan II and Plan III). Plan II contained a Commissioner precinct which had a 47% minority population and changed 9,700 people from one Commissioner precinct to another and disenfranchised 5,549 of them. Plan III contained a Commissioner precinct having a 52.5% minority population which contained existing voting precincts 3, 4, 14, 16, 18, 29, 30 and parts of 17 and 25. Plan III moves 15,000 people from one precinct to another and disenfranchises 7,545 of them for a period of six years. Jesse Flores, representing the Mexican-American Democrats, then presented a plan (Plan IV) for Commissioner Precinct Number 4 only and stated that their organization was concerned only that a majority minority Commissioner precinct be formed and would prefer to let the formulation of the other Commissioner precincts be done by the Commissioners' Court. This plan does not include Commissioner Precincts 1, 2 and 3. It is only concerned with a minority precinct in Commissioner Precinct Number 4.• Plan IV contains existing voting precincts 3, 4, 14, 16, 18, 30 and parts of existing voting precincts 15, 17, 20, 21, 22 and 25. Jose Garza, a representative of MALDF, stated that the intention • of the Mexican-Americans was to maximize the voting strength of the • C r - .-may.. • i minority citizens by creating a minority Commissioner precinct. Mr. Garza also stated that the "bench mark" of creating a majority of minorities in a single Commissioner precinct was met by Plan IV. This plan includes a 23.6% Hispanic population and a 30% Black population or 53.6% minority in Commissioner Precinct No. 4. No figure was given for the total number of people to be changed to another Commissioner precinct or disenfranchised. At the request of Commissioner Cooley. the Court was advised that the census revealed that there was a 10.471 Black and 9.371 Hispanic population in Brazos County. Julie Cadell, a demography graduate student at Texas A & M University who had been hired by the County to interpret the census figures, stated that the figures used to arrive at the percentages of the various plans presented by the County did not agree with the figures quoted. Carey Cauley, representing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. then presented Plan V that formulated a Commissioner precinct containing a 52% minority population. This precinct contained existing voting precincts ! 3, 4, 14, 16, 18, 19, 29, 30 and parts of 17 and 25. Mr. Cauley also asked that the boundary lines for voting precinct 14 be redrawn to include the housing project of Christopher Village allowing those residents to vote at Ben Milam Elementary School, the polling place for that precinct. Mr. Cauley also stated that the hiring of an engineer for maintaining County roads would simplify the redrawing of the Commissioner precinct lines in the rural sections as it would remove the feeling of the Commissioners that the road miles should be kept as close to equal as possible. Olemuel Davis stated that Brazos County does not have a significant total minority population and that the minorities must be able to vote and vote together as a voting block to have any effect on County politics. i • i BIOL.-PAGE.o1S50 iI E' t; i r i VQd PAGEA2~ Mr. Garza then asked if all the plans would be analyzed and ' - Mr. Cauley asked how the final plan will be chosen. f Judge Holmgreen advised the audience that all the plans j ' would be analyzed and that with the assistance of minority representatives. the Court would choose a plan or plans to be presented at the next reapportionment public hearing. j Mr. Flores called the Court's attention to the fact that Plan IV formulated only one Commissioner precinct and that he i would need time to draw the remaining Commissioner precincts if that was the Courts wishes. Judge Holmgreen announced that all the plans would be analyzed and another public hearing would be announced soon. s There being no further business, the Court adjourned. _ may"---__.~ ~T`-`~!`-~~..~~.-.}-`±••, •~i-Y l~,{: ~r~._.._r ~-_Y , ~i JIf , The foregoing minutes have been examined and approved in . open Court this the day of 191L. in Bryan. Brazos County. Texas. i r . R "/0A o gre n CounJudge J2 ter k'i cox a Commissioner. Precinct 2 A. t s y Commissioner. Pr inct 4 Coccanis & nerc Precin 1 1 y r Commissi er. Precinct 3 Fran Bo is ie County Clerk t,1 i i VOL6f