10/26/2021
Since the 2020 Census has been completed, I’m sure you’ve all heard about redistricting at the State and Congressional levels, but some may be unfamiliar with the mandatory redistricting that must be done at the Commissioners Court level. Because of population changes, we must bring precincts into balance with a maximum 10% variance, and Precinct 1 (the precinct I represent) has grown faster than the other three, currently representing approximately 310,000 people in a county with just over a million in population.
Therefore, I need to bring the area I represent down to approximately 255,000, as well as Commissioner Hale’s (Precinct 3), which was the second fastest growing precinct. This is also a great opportunity to adjust some of the precinct boundaries that, quite frankly, were previously drawn somewhat awkwardly. Sometimes this happens to avoid drawing a Commissioner out of their own precinct, and other times, it might just be personal preference.
As for me, my preference is Plan 12, which gives precinct 4 (Commissioner Webb) some needed population numbers that were previously in Precinct 1. Plan 12 also fixes the strange “hook” in West McKinney, which is no longer necessary after changes in court members over the last 10 years. More significantly, because I already represent Celina, as well as the DNT corridor north of 121, it makes sense to incorporate the bulk of the Celina ETJ, including Weston, into Precinct 1, as shown in map 12. Finally, having clean lines (with no “wrap-arounds”) and maintaining roughly the same cities under each Commissioner makes a great deal of sense for consistency as well.
There’s also a JP & Constable map out there for consideration as well. *Note: the JP & Constable precincts are not required to meet population variances, and can be drawn according to work load. However we must keep law enforcement (Deputy Constable) staffing in mind, as each Constable’s office is subject to the new legislation preventing any defunding.
These maps (and possibly more) will be considered on November 1, and published in the Commissioners Court packet on Thursday. If you would like to make public comments, please join us on Monday, November 1 at 1:30 pm in the Jack Hatchell Administration Building, 4th floor.
https://www.collincountytx.gov/commissioners_court/Pages/Redistricting2021.aspx
