Tag Archives: single member districts

Spring Branch ISD single member district lawsuit trial concludes

Now we wait. The federal trial between Spring Branch ISD and a parent alleging the district violated the Voting Rights Act sheds light on what the plaintiffs characterized as vast inequities fueled by a lack of elected representation from the … Continue reading

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Trial begins in Spring Branch ISD single member district lawsuit

Another big case in court this week. A lawsuit against Spring Branch ISD got its day in court Monday, after three years floating in the legal ether waiting for rulings from similar cases to play out. The suit, filed by … Continue reading

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Lawsuit filed over Angleton ISD at large districts

Add this one to the list. A lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that Angleton ISD is violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by denying fair representation to Hispanic voters by using an at-large system to elect all of its trustees. … Continue reading

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Lawsuit filed over Humble ISD’s lack of single member districts

Add another to the pile. A former Humble ISD Spanish teacher sued the district Thursday, alleging trustees and administrators violated the Voting Rights Act by holding all at-large elections for the school board. The lawsuit, filed by Brewer Storefront, the … Continue reading

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The continuing problems of At Large-only school boards

Houston Landing take a look at the big picture. In Katy and several Houston-area districts, school boards have employed an election system — known as “at-large districts” — that has contributed to most trustees living in wealthier neighborhoods, a Houston … Continue reading

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Spring Branch ISD single member district lawsuit on hold as federal courts screw around with VRA

Frustrating. A federal lawsuit that aims to change Spring Branch ISD’s election system to bring more representation to the school board will likely be delayed for months, pending decisions in several other cases that could impact the legality of the … Continue reading

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A long look at Spring Branch ISD

Houston Landing goes deep. With only a week left before the May 6 election, school-board candidate David Lopez and a team of volunteers set out to block walk in the Spring Branch neighborhoods north of Interstate 10, trying to accomplish … Continue reading

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Katy ISD challenged over at large districts

This was from before Christmas but I didn’t have a chance to write about it until now. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund sent a letter Tuesday to Katy ISD accusing the district of disenfranchising Black and Latino voters … Continue reading

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Law firm representing Spring Branch ISD withdraws from redistricting lawsuit

Interesting. The law firm Thompson & Horton LLP has represented Spring Branch ISD in multiple legal matters since 2005. While Thompson & Horton were originally representing SBISD in the Voting Rights Act lawsuit that Virginia Elizondo filed against the district … Continue reading

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More on the Spring Branch ISD single member district lawsuit

Good story from KTRK. The unofficial dividing line for the two sides: I-10 running through the district. With two boys in the district, Carla Cooper-Molano has seen the battle scars, and she wants someone on the school board who represents … Continue reading

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Spring Branch ISD lawsuit

I’m late to this, but better late than never/ A former candidate for the Spring Branch ISD school board has filed a lawsuit alleging the district’s election policies are in violation of national laws against voting discrimination. In her complaint, … Continue reading

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The female face of City Council

Houston City Council is majority female for the first time in over a decade. Starting next year, a record nine women will serve on Houston City Council amid a shift toward a younger and more progressive council for Mayor Sylvester … Continue reading

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A clean separation

Well done. Former Houston ISD superintendent Richard Carranza’s resignation from the district involved no financial settlements, and the two sides agreed not to sue each other following the separation, according to documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle. A written agreement … Continue reading

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The broader implications of the Pasadena voting rights lawsuit

Buried in this Trib story about the ongoing saga of Pasadena’s voting rights lawsuit is this nugget about the state getting involved. The case could reverberate beyond Pasadena’s city limits. Legal experts contend that a decision by the 5th Circuit could guide other … Continue reading

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The 2017 lineup for Pasadena

Here are the candidates for office in Pasadena for this May: I wish I could give that to you in a more reader-friendly format, but online news sources for this are scant. This Patch.com story is the only post-filing deadline … Continue reading

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Pasadena won’t fight election order

The May election in Pasadena will proceed under the pre-redistricting eight-district Council map. The city of Pasadena will not fight an appellate court ruling over its election system, a decision that will allow the upcoming May council elections to proceed … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit upholds Pasadena election order

Good. The Pasadena election system that a judge ruled violated the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against Hispanics cannot be used in the upcoming May council elections, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading

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Fifth Circuit hears Pasadena redistricting appeal

This is to decide whether to lift or leave in place Judge Lee Rosenthal’s ruling that the pre-2013 all-single-member-district Council map will be in place for the May elections in Pasadena. The City of Pasadena asked for the expedited hearing … Continue reading

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Pasadena appellate hearing set

Mark your calendars. With deadlines looming for the upcoming May elections, a federal appeals court has agreed to hear arguments Feb. 1 in a voting rights lawsuit that overturned the Pasadena election system. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading

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Judge affirms Pasadena redistricting order

Back to the previous map, pending appeal. Hours after candidates began filing paperwork to run for city office, a federal judge Wednesday denied a request by Pasadena officials to delay her order that the city election be run under an … Continue reading

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Pasadena will appeal redistricting ruling

Not a surprise. An attorney representing the city of Pasadena said Tuesday the city will appeal a ruling that found Pasadena deliberately violated the voting rights of its Hispanic population, a move that could have immediate consequences for the city’s … Continue reading

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Final ruling in Pasadena redistricting lawsuit

It’s official – back to the original map. With candidate registration set to begin Tuesday, a federal judge Monday prohibited the city of Pasadena from using an unconstitutional redistricting scheme in the upcoming May elections, stating that the scheme violated … Continue reading

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Judge rules for Pasadena plaintiffs

Wow. A federal judge in Houston dealt a major blow Friday to the city of Pasadena in a closely watched voting rights case, ruling that officials deliberately diluted the clout of Hispanic voters by revising the system for electing City … Continue reading

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Pasadena voting rights case in the judge’s hands now

We await a ruling. Armed officers guarded a closed-door committee meeting. Discriminatory comments surfaced at City Hall. Latino-backed council members were hustled from chambers by police. The accounts of perceived intimidation and back-door dealings were detailed during testimony in a … Continue reading

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Pasadena voting rights trial update

Day One: The disparity in infrastructure is at the heart of a voting rights case that opened in federal court Thursday in which a group of Latino residents is challenging the city’s newly revised system of government, saying it discriminates … Continue reading

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Pasadena voting rights trial begins

The Chron’s Mike Snyder provides an update. [This] week in a Houston federal courtroom, [the Voting Rights Act] will again be invoked in a challenge to an allegedly discriminatory council system, this time in a suburban city that’s undergone a … Continue reading

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Pasadena voting rights case moves forward

Good news. A federal judge has denied Pasadena’s request to throw out a lawsuit challenging its controversial city council redistricting plan, which a group of Hispanic and Latino residents alleges dilutes the voting rights of the suburb’s growing minority population. … Continue reading

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Jarvis Johnson wins HD139 special election

For whatever it turns out to be worth. Houston voters on Saturday selected Jarvis D. Johnson to fill the remainder of the unexpired term of former District 139 State Representative Sylvester Turner, now mayor of Houston. Johnson, a former Houston … Continue reading

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Representation in Richmond

One of the smaller elections going on right now has some important questions to answer. Every time Tres Davis drives over the cracks in the streets of North Richmond, he remembers why he’s fighting for change. There are few sidewalks … Continue reading

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Fort Bend ISD

A lot going on over there. With a fifth-grader in Palmer Elementary School in Missouri City, Steve Brown has begun to think about where his son should attend middle school. The campus is just a two-minute drive from the current … Continue reading

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The At Large trend

From Think Progress: Yakima, WA is one-third Latino, but a Latino candidate has not been elected to the city council for almost 40 years. Santa Barbara, CA is 38 percent Latino, but only one Latino has been elected to its … Continue reading

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Don’t forget about Pasadena

There’s still a lawsuit in the works regarding their 2013 redistricting referendum that switched their Council from an eight-member all-district makeup to six districts and two At large seats, all at the behest of Mayor Johnny Isbell. Pasadena is preparing … Continue reading

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Art Murillo

Congratulations to Art Murillo, the first person of color elected to the Lone Star College Board of Trustees. Need I mention that it took a lawsuit for this to happen? Murillo, who is Latino, at one time might have seemed … Continue reading

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Lawsuit filed over Pasadena Council districts

Good. For 41 years, Alberto Patiño has lived in Pasadena and seen a lot of changes there. Now Hispanics like him make up more than 60 percent of residents and about 40 percent of eligible voters. Patiño wants that reflected … Continue reading

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