FEDS SAY NO TO TEXAS GOP GERRYMANDERING | Image of gerrymandered Collin County State House Districts | |
At a press conference on Monday, U.S. Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said the maps passed into law by the Republican-controlled Legislature showed an "overall disregard for the massive minority population growth" the state experienced over the last decade. The Federal lawsuit targets both Congressional districts and State House districts. The DOJ pointed specification to the "configuration of districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area where it argues the map effectively turns back a decade of rapid Latino population growth and preserves Anglo control of most remaining districts."
Texas gained two Congressional seats following the 2020 Census, more than any other state, reflecting the explosive population growth of the past decade. Nearly all of our population growth, 95% of it, is due to Texans of color. Yet in drawing new districts, white Texans gained both of these new Congressional seats. Per the Texas Tribune, "the state's new congressional map also reduces the number of districts with a Hispanic voting majority from eight to seven, while the number of districts with Black residents as the majority of eligible voters drops from one to zero."
Drawing districts to dilute or diminish minority voting is a violation of the Federal Voting Rights Act. Until 2013, states with a history of suppressing minority voting were required to gain "pre-clearance" from the Department of Justice for any changes to voting districts, with the DOJ able to reject districts that diminished or suppressed minority voting. However, in the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court, the John Roberts Supreme Court ruled that since there is no more discrimination, there was no longer a need for pre-clearance - essentially gutting the VRA by removing the main enforcement feature.
Here in Collin County, our Congressional districts were drawn so that our mostly suburban cities are joined to vast stretches of rural counties along the Red River and to the east (see diagram below). For State House districts, most of Plano was put into a newly-drawn HD70, but Plano's historical Black neighborhood near downtown, the Douglass Community, was drawn into HD33, which includes a small sliver of Collin County and all of Rockwall County.
|  | Image of gerrymandered Collin County Congressional Districts | |
This truly egregious gerrymandering means that the same member of Congress will represent a few mostly Democratic and ethnically very diverse precincts in Plano and Frisco along with seven rural, mostly white, and Republican counties plus parts of three more. The effect of this gerrymandering is that voters in those Plano and Frisco precincts will have very little say in who represents them in Congress.
Read more:
U.S. Department of Justice sues Texas over new political maps (Texas Tribune)
Find your new districts (Texas Tribune)
Check out the new maps (select the "Enrolled" district)
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PRECINCT CHAIR OF THE MONTH
Carlos Cuellar #228 Princeton
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Congratulations to Carlos Cuellar, Precinct 228/Princeton, on his election win for Princeton ISD Board of Trustees!
Carlos embodies the mission of being a Collin County Democratic Party precinct chair. Community-involved action contributes to moving toward a better world. Registering voters, teaming up with other members of the community who possess the same values working towards a common goal, wins elections. These actions contribute to the improvement of the community where we live and work.
Carlos has been a precinct chair for several years now, working tirelessly to make the lives of parents and students in Princeton ISD be a better place… to learn, work, and live! Thank you, Carlos!
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A HUDDLE WITH HANSEN
ONE MORE OPPORTUNITY: DINNER WITH DALE!
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If you missed out on our fantastic "Huddle With Hansen" event, you have one last opportunity to enjoy an evening with a Dallas sports journalism legend!
Legendary Dallas sports commentator Dale Hansen has offered to auction a once-in-a-lifetime evening at his home!
Dale will send a limousine to pick up the winning party of 6 to whisk them away to his home where he will serve a delicious dinner and drinks followed by cigars on the patio.
Dale shares amazing stories where he stood strong by his convictions even where his advocacy was not expected.
Bidding opened at "Huddle with Hansen" on Sunday at $1500. After a heated bidding war, Mark Phariss and friends ended the night in the lead with a bid of $2800.
We will keep bidding open until this Friday, December 10 at 5:00 p.m.
To place your bid, simply comment on the Facebook post. Bidding will continue at a minimum increment of $200.
Good luck and happy bidding!
| Photos from our Huddle With Hansen Event | |
CCDP PHONE BANKING - COME AND JOIN US! | |
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Collin Democrats - we are already working on winning seats in 2022. We've got a lot of work to do with the new district lines that have been drawn. Now is the time to take action — and Talk the Talk!
Phone Bank with us! Our phone bank campaign has call parties where we smile and dial together every Tuesday and Sunday via Zoom. Training is provided — so new dialers are WELCOME! We will be dialing volunteers to fill out our volunteer slots, then talking to our recently registered voters. Calls will be made from home with training, coaching, games, and encouragement provided on the Zoom call. Sign up below!
Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - Noon
Sundays, 1 - 3 p.m.
Would you like to be a phone bank co-captain?
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LOOKING FOR THE IDEAL GIFT FOR THE DEM ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST? HOW ABOUT A DISCOUNT? | |
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TRUE BLUE TEXANS: Wouldn't you like to receive these gifts this holiday season? And how about a discount? Our holiday present to you: 17% off apparel, mugs, and signs.
Use code COLINHLDY when checking out to get the discount - good through December 31!
All profit supports the Coordinated Campaign for 2022 as we register and reach out to more Democrats to expand our base.
Whether you've been naughty or nice, you'll look great in your True Blue Texans merch!
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This holiday season, the CCDP is asking Collin Democrats to donate money to Minnie's Food Pantry.
You can help Minnie's in two ways!
- Look through this Amazon list and add food to your cart. Select "JT Snowden's Gift Registry Address" for shipping.
- Can you donate a few dollars to help us reach our goal of $250?
All of the money that the CCDP raises for this initiative will be donated to Minnie's Food Pantry. The food drive runs through Saturday, December 18th, so please donate today! Thank you so much!
Minnie's Food Pantry remains a source of not only food but hope for all those they serve. Learn more about Minnie's here.
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CCDP SUPPORTS DOUGLASS VISIONS HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE | |
Join the CCDP as we partner with Douglass Visions to brighten children's Christmas with toys. Your donation, no matter how small, will go a long way towards making a child smile this Holiday season!
Douglass Community Services, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit human services agency that is active in advocating and intervening for families and individuals experiencing problems with day-to-day crises.
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State-Wide: So…lots of fun back and forth on mask mandates in schools. In November, Federal Judge Lee Yeakel decided that Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order banning mandates in schools violated the rights of students with disabilities. However, the super-conservative U.S. 5th Circuit temporarily halted Yeakel’s ruling saying they didn’t think the COVID risks were that big of a deal. “The risks of contracting COVID-19 for these plaintiffs are certainly real, but the alleged injury to plaintiffs from the enforcement of [the governor’s order] is, at this point, much more abstract.” Sure. That sounds reasonable and non-partisan...
(Read More)
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Collin County: In case you haven’t been paying attention, our democracy is in trouble. Many sources, including the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance’s annual report on the Global State of Democracy, say the US has been added to an annual list of “backsliding” democracies for the first time. It will surprise no one to hear signs of the backslide started in 2016 (I wonder what happened that year) and began a “visible deterioration” in 2019. If you’re not worried, you should be. This is bad...
(Read More)
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Allen ISD Board of Trustees: A family in Allen filed a restraining order against AISD for the treatment of their immuno-compromised child and the lack of services offered this year. They go to court next week to speak with the judge and seek a permanent injunction. This is an unusual move but the family already tried all forms of resolution except due process because they don’t have the time to waste. Filing for due process today means you won’t receive a final ruling until the end of April at the earliest...
(Read More)
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Little Elm ISD Board of Trustees: More than 200 people showed up to Little Elm’s “listening session” about the school protest that led to police brutality and the arrest of four students. People were understandably angry. Parent Anna De Luna went to the school that day and could hear students screaming and crying before she was let in by a student gasping for air. As the only adult around, she wiped off students’ faces while several more reached out to her for help. That’s not something people are going to forget any time soon.
(Read More)
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McKinney ISD Board of Trustees: MISD has this weird policy that any yahoo can complain about (“challenge”) a book in a school’s library and then the district solicits community feedback about the offending book. Apparently, the family of grifter Paul Chabot – who’s running for HD61 –often challenges books. Figures. Has anyone else noticed that the Republican candidates continue to be the worst people? There’s no bottom. Given this situation, we need as many people as possible to comment positively on The Perks of Being a Wallflower (the offending book) for both Boyd and High. Both high schools receiving a challenge on the same book simultaneously sounds like a coordinated effort.
(Read More)
| LWAN: If you enjoy reading these columns, please join LWAN (men welcome). I can’t write these columns without a lot of help! If we want true change, we must know what’s going on. That means monitoring every city council and school board in Collin County. This is something anyone can do and it’s interesting work. Please let me contact me and let me know if you’re interested. | |
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CCDP SUPPORTS LULAC FOR THE 17TH ANNUAL
CENA EN EL BARRIO
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CCDP Executive Director Debbie O'Reilly (r) presents a check for $2,000 to LULAC Collin County President Coty Rodriguez Anderson (c) and Treasurer Lolly Flores (l). | |
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) annual Cena en el Barrio (Dinner in the Neighborhood) provides food, coats, shoes, and toys to families in Collin County.
CCDP is proud to donate to this worthy cause - this is our commitment to the importance of working in our community to make life better for families in Collin County.
Learn about LULAC Collin County and LULAC
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MCKINNEY PARADE OF LIGHTS | |
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We're inviting ALL local Democrats and their families to walk with us in the McKinney Parade of Lights. This well-attended event is the perfect opportunity to show Collin County that we're community partners and we're proud to be Democrats!
Please RSVP below so we have some idea of how many marchers we'll have!
When: Saturday, December 11, 6 p.m.
Where: Historic Downtown McKinney, Parking Lot Near Tennessee & Lamar Streets, McKinney
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Richardson Area Democrats Club and Plano Area Democrats Club are joining together to host a 2021 Holiday Party!
We'll be enjoying Rodeo Goat Plano's spacious outdoor patio (complete with fire pits and heaters) on Wednesday, December 15 from 6-8 pm. Tickets are $12 per person or $20 per couple. Dinner is included and drinks will be available to purchase. We will also be hosting a White Elephant exchange (price limit $20).
When: Wednesday, December 15, 6-8 p.m.
Where: Rodeo Goat Plano, 541 Powell Ln, Plano
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RO OMERE’S CAMPAIGN LAUNCH CELEBRATION | |
Join Ro Omere as she kicks off her campaign for Texas Congressional District 4! All Collin County Residents are invited to attend her Campaign Launch Celebration on Dec. 16. Meet Ro and other candidates running for office in Collin County. Please RSVP below.
When: Thursday, December 16, 6 p.m.
Where: Common Desk, 5830 Granite Pkwy. STE. 100, Plano
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GET TO KNOW COUNTY JUDGE CANDIDATE JOSHUA MURRAY | |
Please join the Joshua Murray Campaign for a one-on-one virtual interview hosted by Dr. Misty Hook, Collin County Democratic Party Local Politics Director.
Submit any questions to info@accountablecollincounty.com.
When: Thursday, December 16, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Virtual, register below to receive Zoom connection info.
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MICHIGAN GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER
TO VISIT NORTH TEXAS
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Annie's List is hosting Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on December 10 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas and we couldn't be more thrilled to welcome her to the Lone Star State.
Sponsorships begin at $1,250 for a half table of 4. Individual tickets are $250 and virtual tickets at $100. You can review all sponsorship opportunities and our Event Committee on the event page.
When: Friday, December 10, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Where: The Hilton Anatole, 2201 N Stemmons Fwy, Dallas
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The CCDP office at 1915 Central Expy #150 in Plano will reopen in December on a limited basis – we'll staff our office Saturday, December 11 and Saturday, December 18 from 12 – 2 p.m. We'll post expanded January 2022 hours soon.
As always, when not in the office, our staff are working from home and available by telephone at 972-578-1483 or the web at collindemocrats.org.
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Collin County Democratic Party (CCDP) | 972-578-1483 | www.collindemocrats.org © 2021
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