Introducing the Legislative Redistricting Board
All On The Line started this series to shine a light on the backroom board of five politicians who could have control of Texas's state legislative redistricting process ahead of important elections in 2022.
In June we introduced you to Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick -- one of the most hostile opponents of universal vote-by-mail. In July we introduced you to indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton -- a man who said that a "fear of contracting COVID-19 does not amount to a sickness or physical condition" that warrants a mail-in ballot.
This month, we're introducing you to two would-be map manipulators who will be sitting on the LRB: Texas's General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush and Comptroller Glenn Hegar.
How did General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush and Comptroller Glenn Hegar enter politics?
The Washington Post released a shocking truth that Commissioner Bush only won his election by abandoning his party's more reasonable values and "proving that it's Trump's GOP."
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-- The Washington Post, 03/06/2018 |
His buddy Comptroller Hegar is cut from the same extreme, partisan cloth. For instance, organizations gave anti-endorsements of Hegar when he expressed interest in the job because he's unqualified and inexperienced to deal with finances and the economy. Now? Reports reveal that the state of Texas faces an almost $5 billion revenue shortfall.
It's clear: Commissioner Bush and Comptroller Hegar are unqualified for their current positions -- and are uniquely unqualified to draw fair maps during the redistricting process. As we ramp up our outreach efforts to prevent unaccountable, ideological partisan politicians in states like Texas from manipulating the maps, can we count on you to chip in to help sustain our efforts for the battle ahead?
How are these pair of map manipulators a threat to fair maps?
As said earlier, Comptroller Hegar is so hyper-partisan and ideological that he received an "anti-endorsement" from Progress Texas, an organization that "typically promotes issues over candidates."
And Commissioner Bush? The city of Houston just called him out publicly because there's reason to believe he intentionally delayed critical funds to repair housing damages following Hurricane Harvey. Natural disasters don't have a political party.
If Bush can't be trusted with nonpartisan issues like rebuilding cities for folks who lost their homes because of a natural disaster, then he definitely can't be trusted in a smoke-filled, backroom to hammer out electoral maps with four other extreme officials.
Why does this matter?
If the board were convened today to draw district lines, all five of its members will be conservative Republicans, just like General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush and Comptroller Glenn Hegar.
Putting them in a room to redraw the maps probably isn't going to work out well for the people of Texas especially with no transparency, oversight, or accountability. It's a recipe sure to result in manipulated maps and conservative control for at least another decade. We can't let that happen -- help us fight back!
All On The Line's success depends on educating people about these sorts of smoke-filled backrooms -- and stopping them early by bringing light and transparency into the process. Will you chip in to help us reach more people and let them know that the time to fight back in states like Texas starts now?
Thank you,
-- The AOTL Team
