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S' a S= ~ ~. ~ I k RIBER RATE STAGE ID eX.77004 " o. 1115 - O';;l 0' S" (1) ~ s' a s= ~ ~. ~ I ::r(1)(,)'< ~(1)_(1)~'" 0<>(1) _I ~~ __ ~~~~_ What Kind of Person Reads Breakthrough? Vol. I Rosalind Soliz Resides in: Houston Profession: New.s producer, KHOUTV . Interests and Activities: The arts, scuba diving, skiing, reading Persons Most Admired: Catherine Mackin, Connie Chung, Jane Fonda, Kurt Vonnegut Fantasies: To be a foreign correspondent and to live in a number of spots around the world . .AND YOU, TOO, CAN BE A BREAKTHROUGH SUBSCRIBER FOR ONLY $5.00 A YEAR!!! SUBSCRIBE TODAY BULK RATE P.O.Box8807.1 Breakthrough U.S. POST AGE po Bolo'880. 72 H:.II61un T.'I< •.b 770CJ4 PAID Houston, Texas 77004 Houston, Tex. 77004 Permit No. 1115 N~e ~ _ Address _ or GiftFrom-,-' --'- _ Cardto Read_-------- Address Change Requested Return Postage Guaranteed HOD-STON 500sq.mi NEWYORK 320sq.mi. PAT BOHAN Women & Minorities·At large -, Discriminatory elections in the nation's largest city council district By Chandler Davis When the votes for city council All eight councilmen (I use the Had Jordan not benefited from a of the la w school at Texas South- tirnony, the defendant's three main are tallied next month, seven of the term advisedly) are elected city- court-ordered redistricting scheme, ern University, as Houston's first academic experts minimized the eight winners will probably be wide. Of course, five must reside in -she might very well be quietly prac- black city attorney. influence of the at-large system in WASMs - White Anglo-Saxon given districts, but they are still ticing law today in her office on King's presence as chief defense diluting the minority vote. Outside Males - if the past is any guide. elected -at large . .In other words, Lyons Avenue. - counsel in the trial lent credibility the courtroom, however, all three From 1955, when the present there is only one district from Black and Chicano leaders, tothe city's case. Under attack for are on record in support of the method for electing council went which the councilmen are elected. along with some white allies, filed being unresponsive to the needs of opposite view. into effect, through 1975, eight It is the largest of its kind in the suit against the city in 1973, argu- minorities, the city would argue Professors George Antunes and elective positions have been filled -nation. ing that the method of electing that its black attorney was drama- Kenneth Mladenka of the Univer- 'every two years, for a total of 88. sities of Houston and Virginia, In 85 of the cases, they were filled respectively, co-authored an article by WASMs. In the three other "In 1973, I ran against Homer Ford. Out of four candidates I was that appeared a few months before races they were filled by incum- fortunate enough to get into the run-off. In the election, I received 80 the trial began. They wrote: r. bent Judson Robinson, Jr., a weal- per cent of the district, but lost in the at-large vote. In 1975, the same "(An)" important feature of thy black businessman. - thing happened." - Lawrence Pope, District D - American local government is the During this period, there were at-large election where council can- more than30 minority candidacies. "To run a campaign in a city the size of Houston would take 10 didates are not elected by district Most of the challengers seemed to people doing what I am doing every day to contact all the -different but by the entire community .... -be as well-qualified as the white groups that we want to contact."-Kathryn Ross, Position 2 (In) larger communities at-large incumbents and enjoyed strong council elections dilute minority n ~lInn()rt in t he ",thnic nrecincts, --_. __ ._-_.__..•....--•..!.- ____L_ ..•_..~ ..•...:~.11_._. .! _ , u .••". .••. _n_. r- -- -.., Lnele-rS--OTI-ry--on-e-anrrr.rcl.-TIuTrr---BlaCK anu--c:-nTcanu-re·a-a·eTs;--t1~)rhe clt~a~nder attack tor are on re ccn u=-an sup por t or t ne method for electing council went which the councilmen are elected. along with some white allies, filed being unresponsive to the needs of opposite view. into effect, through 1975, eight It is the largest of its kind in the suit against the city in 1973, argu- minorities, the city would argue Professors George Antunes and elective positions have been filled nation. ing that the method of electing that its black attorney was drama- Kenneth Mladenka of the Univer- 'every two years, for a total of 88. sities of Houston and Virginia, In 85 of the cases, they were filled respectively, co-authored an article by WASMs. In the three other "In 1973, I ran against Homer Ford. Out of four candidates I was that appeared a few months before races they were filled by incum- fortunate enough to get into the run-off. In the election, I received 80 the trial began. They wrote: -<t bent Judson Robinson, Jr.i a weal- per cent of the. district, but lost in the at-large vote. In 1975, the same "(An) important feature of thy black businessman. thing happened."-Lawrence Pope, District D . American local government is the During this period, there were at-large election where council can- more than 30 minority candidacies. "To run a campaign in a city the size of Houston would take 10 didates are not elected by district Most of the challengers seemed to people doing what I am doing every day to contact all the -different but by the entire community .... .be as well-qualified as the white groups that we want to contact." - Kathryn Ross, Position 2 (In) larger communities at-large incumbents and enjoyed strong council elections dilute minority support in the ethnic precincts. "It would keep the expense down in running a campaign. Right representation, substantially in- Nonetheless, with the exception now it costs around $25,000 to get a councilman in." , crease the cost of campaigning for of Robinson, none succeeded in ' -Stan Casey, District A office and make government even getting more than 40% of the vote more, remote from the citizens." '0'0 city-wide. "We have got to have single member districts. Running at- large The city's other academic ex- .aI•••aI The reason for WASM predom- pert, Professor Susan McManus of 1/) •••• 'means a media campaign, which means thousands of dollars. If we went inance is obvious. A combination to single member districts, five of the present council members would the University of Houston, presen- ~~ of discriminatory electoral devices lose their seats." - Merylyn Whited, District C ted data during the trial which she &~ make it very difficult for other claimed showed that the at-large aI~ types of candidates to win, despite "Had Barbara Jordan not benefitted from a court-ordered redis- system was not an important cause the. fact that Houston's minority tricting scheme, she might very well be quietly practicing law today in of minority underrepresentation Jj population is now over 40%. her office on Lyons Avenue."-Chandler Davidson on city councils. But in an unpub- u~ These are the place. voting sys- lished paper co-authored with an- I/)Q. tem, the runoff requirement, and other political scientist, intended I/) c:: the at-large device. The small size The district has a population of council is unconstitutional because tic evidence to the contrary. Fed- for an academic audience, McMan- aI "" '0"" .::•I .• of the council is also a culprit. 1.5 million, larger than that of 16 it dilutes the minority vote. The eral Judge Allen Hannay, in an- us reached strikingly different Students of electoral behavior individual states. The minority Houston League of Women Voters nouncing his decision last April, conclusions from those expressed ~& are virtually unanimous in their community alone-Blacks and Chi- filed an amicus curiae brief. They cited King's appointment as one of in the courtroom. The data base opinion that these factors/dilute canos -Is greater than the total .had tried unsuccessfully in 1972 his reasons for ruling against the used by McManus to support these the minority vote in cities where populations of all but about 20 of to collect' the ,50,000 signatures plaintiffs. That decision is now on divergent opinions is the same. in racial polarization exists. In Hous- the largest cities. in America. that were then required to petition appeal. both instances. ton they probably exclude 'women Houston is also gargantuan in fora referendum on a city charter For the time being, consequent- In her post-trial paper McManus aswell. This is especially true for terms of area. It contains over 500 change. The League favored a ly, the council is still the preserve wrote that minorities' "inequita- feminists, who have about the same square miles, compared with the mixed system of both at-large and of WASMs. Things could have been bility of representation is associa- chance in a council race as a candi- 320 occupied by the five boroughs single-mern bet-district elections. very different. Consider, for exam- . ted with at-large election systems date representing the Symbionese of New York City. In 1975, as the case had not yet pIe, the possibilities open to wom- and small city councils." Liberation Army, at Ieastif their Houston's great and ever-grow- been tried, the council allowed a en and minorities if single-member Minorities (and in my view, feminism is well-known. ing size, measured both in terms nonbinding "straw vote" to be districts had been decreed and the women) will probably continue to of population and geographical taken on the issue during that size of the council were enlarged depend largely on WASMs to rep- spread, makes a low-budget, shoe- year's municipal elections.
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