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Irving single-member district plan making waves

12:00 AM CST on Sunday, January 17, 2010
By BRANDON FORMBY
bformby@dallasnews.com

A U.S. District Court judge has yet to issue the final order creating single-member City Council districts in Irving, but a proposed plan is already creating political waves.

Attorneys for plaintiff Manuel Benavidez and the city must respond by Tuesday to a letter opposing the proposed districts that council members Tom Spink and Beth Van Duyne submitted to Judge Jorge Solis.

Spink and Van Duyne, meanwhile, must now give serious thought to whether they want to run against each other in four months for a spot that's already drawn interest from a political newcomer.

City Secretary Janice Carroll's office is busy researching how the proposed new system could affect other hopefuls who begin filing for council places next month. And Benavidez said community leaders are trying to encourage political involvement of Hispanics who have long felt disenfranchised.

"The mental capacity is, 'Why try because it's not going to happen,' " Benavidez said. "There is a lot of work to be done in this area."

During a trial last year, attorneys for Benavidez successfully argued that the city's current at-large voting system effectively allows white voters to block candidates that Hispanics support.

Hispanics make up the largest ethnic or racial group in the city, but all current council members are white. Solis, who presided over the trial, ordered the city to halt all council elections until single-member districts are created.

A proposed plan calls for six council members to be elected from single-member districts. The mayor and two other council members would still be elected at large, or by all voters in the city.

The U.S. Justice Department approved the plan earlier this month. But Solis, who already gave initial support pending federal approval, now wants a response from both sides to the letter Spink and Van Duyne sent him.

The letter criticizes how a predominantly Hispanic district is drawn. They said it would be a "nightmare" for election officials, candidates and voters. They also say it dilutes the votes of black residents because they are split into four districts.

Attorneys for Benavidez and the city said they will defend the controversial hybrid system to Solis. Mayor Herbert Gears said the system will work better than an all single-member district plan like the one in Dallas.

"We didn't think that was a very efficient way to govern," he said.

But the plan does present several questions and political hurdles.

The proposed District 1 would elect a council member to the seat Spink holds, but his residence is not within its boundaries. That means if he wants to remain on the council, he would have to run for the Place 2 seat Van Duyne holds. Both members are up for re-election in May.

Spink said he hasn't made a final decision, but said he wouldn't run against his frequent council ally. Van Duyne said they've discussed the situation and she hopes he runs in May. She declined to comment on whether she plans to seek a third term. But she did say she is "strongly considering" a mayoral run next year.

Roy Santoscoy, who has served on several city boards and commissions, announced this month that he plans to run for Van Duyne's Place 2 seat. Sam Smith, who would reside in the single-member district that elects the seat he holds, says he plans to run again for his Place 7 post.

Meanwhile, City Secretary Janice Carroll said her office is preparing for election administration changes that would come with single-member districts.

"We can no longer wait to do the yeoman's work," she said.

That work includes developing new maps so voters and candidates know who lives in which potential new districts. Council hopefuls must collect signatures from a certain number of registered voters before they can get on the ballot.

Carroll said the city hopes to figure out by next week whether the required signatures for each of the six proposed single-member districts must come solely from within those districts. City officials may also have to determine a new threshold for the number of required voter signatures for each district.

Carroll said her office will await a final ruling before implementing any changes.

Council member Lewis Patrick said the proposed District 1, which holds the highest concentration of Hispanic voters, is drawn in such a way that many people in south Irving are going to be confused about which council post they're voting for.

"I think it's just wrong to have a district that looks like that," he said.

Whether or not that district will elect a Hispanic-backed candidate this year is still largely up for debate. Even Benavidez said it's going to be tough. He said that after decades of feeling shut out of local politics, Hispanics in that district aren't plugged in enough to know the election system is poised to dramatically change.

"Everything I've done all these years will amount to nothing if my community, the Latinos, don't take advantage of what has been put forth," he said. "That's where it's at."

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