New census estimate could mean new council districts

Late last year, we discussed how routine population growth plus the flood of hurricane evacuees who have settled in Houston might mean the city has to redraw its City Council districts because of a provision in the city charter requiring two new council districts when Houston's population reaches 2.1 million. That process could begin soon, Mayor Bill White told councilmembers yesterday, depending on a population estimate expected to be released by the Census Bureau next week. And when it does begin, it could be messy.

There are now nine City Council districts in Houston covering specific areas and five at-large districts that represent the entire city. Redrawing the existing lines to add two new districts, which would be known as District J and District K, would mean changes all over town:

"It will require some reconfiguration of every district within the city, practically," [White] said. "Obviously, we want to keep as much continuity as we can, so the citizens learn that they are part of a district. We want to keep neighborhoods together."

There's a good side to the possible redistricting: Each councilmember would represent fewer residents (about 190,000, down from the current 215,000) and a smaller geographic area, meaning residents would theoretically have more say in who gets elected and how their councilmembers vote. But the process could get complicated if people believe it's being done along racial or political lines — some have said they hope the new districts would mean new black or Hispanic councilmembers, and we're sure any redistricting talk will bring with it the hope that council representation reflects Houston's changing demographics. What's more, the new census data is based on statistical analysis instead of the decennial count, which opens the door to conflict over how many people live where.

White has asked Councilwoman Carol Alvarado to look into ways of finding where new Houstonians have settled using construction permits, water bills and other methods; he also said he will convene a "diverse, bipartisan" council committee if redistricting is necessary.