Growth means some residents will change precinct districts

05/06/2001

By Annette Fuller / The Dallas Morning News

When the county commissioner precincts are reconfigured this year, those who live in western Flower Mound may find themselves being represented by a different commissioner.

More than likely, those people will move from Precinct 3 into Precinct 4 and be represented by Jim Carter of Trophy Club rather than Bobbie Mitchell of Lewisville.

"I don't want to give up any of my constituents," Mrs. Mitchell said. "But I am way over the average number."

The boundary lines for the county commissioner precincts are changed every 10 years, after census data is released. The populations in each precinct are totaled, and boundary lines are redrawn to give each precinct about the same number of people.

Based on the updated census data, each precinct needs to have about 108,181 people within its boundaries. The number is the average population of the four precincts.

The goal is to have the Commissioners Court approve the lines by the first part of August, said County Judge Scott Armey.

Mrs. Mitchell, the former mayor of Lewisville who was elected commissioner last year, is the only commissioner who will have to give up constituents. Precinct 3, now covering most of Lewisville, Highland Village and Flower Mound, is about 21,500 over the average. Those three communities have seen tremendous growth lately.

Mr. Carter, who represents the southwestern portion of the county, needs to gain the most – about 12,500 people. He said it would be sensible to pick up part of Flower Mound.

"Precinct 4 will need to relieve the heavily populated Precinct 3 ... in the western Flower Mound area," Mr. Carter said. "We are attempting to realign the voter precincts for the optimum convenience of the voters."

Mrs. Mitchell said she plans to meet with the mayors of her three cities and ask their advice in the realignment process.

One resident of western Flower Mound, Karen McCracken, said that while she keeps up with Flower Mound Town Council action, she does not stay in touch with county issues.

"I'm not informed enough about either of those individuals [Mr. Carter or Mrs. Mitchell] to make any comments," she said. "I do care about who represents me, though, so I'll be trying to find out more."

Other realignments must allow Sandy Jacobs of Carrollton, who serves the Carrollton and The Colony area, to pick up about 8,000 new constituents. Commissioner Cynthia White of Aubrey, who represents nearly the half of the county's geographic area – the northern portion – is close to the target population, needing only about 800 more constituents.

The numbers do not have to match exactly, allowing for a 5 percent differential either way, said Don Alexander, county elections administrator.

Last week, the county commissioners appointed a redistricting committee to analyze the commissioner precinct boundaries and make recommendations. Each commissioner is allowed to make two appointments to the committee. The appointments have yet to be made.

"We will probably have our first meeting the first week of June," Mr. Armey said. "We will have the opportunity to evaluate the Senate, House and congressional lines to fine-tune our voter precincts."

Getting the boundary lines redrawn by August is critical, Mr. Alexander said. After the commissioners approve the new boundaries, the map must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. That process takes 60 days.

"That takes us to mid-October," Mr. Alexander said, adding that new voter registration cards need to be mailed out to registered voters by mid-November.

Staff writer Annette Fuller can be reached at 972-436-5551, ext. 2002, or by e-mail at .