Reactions to approved redistricting map vary

Hays County’s redistricting map proposed by Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell received a wide range of reactions after its approval on Tuesday.

Criticism regarding the final CC2 map sparked from the submission of the maps from Shell on Friday, Nov. 4, two days after the court was initially presented with maps from the Redistricting Advisory Commission (RAC).

The CC2 map was posted on the RAC’s website prior to any presentation or opportunities for comments from the court or the public.

“It’s not ideal and I apologize for it. But my job is to do the best that I can for the best interests of the county as a whole, and I felt that there could be maps that would do that in a better way,” Shell said.

According to Shell, after the RAC’s initial presentation on Nov. 2, he began dissecting the numbers from the maps and set up a meeting with the county’s GIS department and Pct. 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe to express his dissatisfaction and concerns with the maps.

“I was going to work on some alternatives and so (I) did that very quickly. It was very hard, took a lot of time,” Shell said. “Most people understand that it was rushed, and in fact, that CC2 map really didn’t get printed until Friday around [5 p.m.] My goal was that it would be in backup for the court, and that it would be sent to all of the RAC members, the advisory commission members.”

This year’s redistricting process has also faced challenges due to late census data and a compressed time frame, according to Shell. However, he was ultimately supportive of the final decision.

“I think it’s a good map. I think it represents the county well and the growth of the county,” Shell said. “I think it tries to balance in the best way that it can the differences of the unincorporated areas, and I think it has a great deal of respect for the increase in our minority populations in the county.”

While Shell is in support of the newly adopted map, that isn’t the case for everyone on the court.

During the meeting, Ingalsbe expressed her concern that the commissioners nor the public had time to view the map before it was passed.

“I guess my biggest concerns regarding this whole process is that we really did not have ample opportunity, none of us, I, the public, even the court, as we’ve all mentioned (had) ample opportunity to review and analyze these maps,” Ingalsbe said Tuesday.

After the maps were chosen, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra expressed his opinion on it via a post on social media.

“While I could use a slew of buzzwords to describe it, the biggest is this — disappointing. Hays County’s redistricting map is some thing that this court has fallen short on, and we must be better,” Becerra wrote.

For the complete discussion surrounding the maps during the commissioners court meeting, visit hayscountytx.com/commissioners-court/court-video/.