Friends and Fellow Republicans:
U.S. Senator John Cornyn’s East Texas Deputy Regional Director, Louellen Lowe, will be our speaker TODAY, June 28th, at 6:00 p.m. at the Courthouse Annex. We are glad to have Louellen speaking in her home town of Nacogdoches!
Also NOTE: U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert will be a Guest Host on Point of View today from 1-3p.m. – You can tune in via this link: http://www.pointofview.net/site/PageServer
Folks, it looks as if the redistricting lines that were passed are being challenged. So, there is a possibility that State Representative Wayne Christian could retain Nacogdoches County in his district. There are a lot of possible scenarios that could play out – and you can read about them in the update below.
I have just received this from State Representative Wayne Christian:
Breaking News on State House Redistricting
Friends,
It has come to my attention that the current Texas House of Representatives redistricting plan has received challenges that may change the final outcome of the map for East Texas and across the state. As I am sure you are aware, the redistricting plan passed out by the State House (HB 150) was signed by the Governor and goes into effect on September 29th, 2011. This plan would dramatically change the composition of our East Texas districts, changing my seat to include portions of Rep. Hughes’ and Rep. Lavender’s districts. However, HB 150 is being challenged in the courts by several parties, which could potentially have a large impact on where the final lines are drawn. These challenges are coming from Democrats, minority caucuses and interest groups who believe the map fails to meet federal legal standards that attempt to create minority-opportunity districts.
These challenges mean that a few things could happen. If the challenges in the court system do not get resolved quickly, then all of the representatives in the State House will run in their current districts-the ones you have known and voted in for years now. The next potential result is that the courts may dismiss these challenges to HB 150 quickly and the redistricting plan that has been passed will go into effect, and all of the representatives in the State House will run in the new districts. The final result that may arise from these challenges is that new lines will be drawn by the court to rectify any legitimate legal claims as they see fit.
In short: there is complete uncertainty at this time on what the State House districts will look like when you go to vote in this next cycle. If the court battle isn’t resolved quickly, your current representative will be on the ballot-same as it has been for years. And if the court battle is resolved quickly, you may be voting in a district drawn by HB 150 or you may be voting in a district drawn by the court process. We really will not know until late September or early October what the lines will look like and who you the people will be voting for due to these legal challenges.
Regardless, I want to assure the citizens of Nacogdoches, Shelby, Sabine, Jasper and San Augustine Counties that I continue to be your State Representative until January of 2013, regardless of the outcome of these court challenges. I have employed the finest of attorneys who are experts in this redistricting process to make sure our citizens are fully represented in this ongoing challenge.
As more information comes available, I will definitely pass it along to you. The redistricting process is extremely difficult, as the Legislature tries to create a fair and legal map with new population data from the Census. With word of these court challenges coming, we will not know the final lines of our map for some time.
Thank you all for your continued support,
Wayne
We plan on giving you an update on this Tuesday.
Thanks for your time & remember to bring a friend Tuesday evening!
God bless,
Jackie Yates
Chairman
Nacogdoches County Republican Party
P.O. Box 630866
Nacogdoches, TX 75963
*** P.S. Check the NCRP Website now for current events and other interesting items: www.nac-gop.com ***
Phone: 936-569-9685
NCRP Phone: 936-569-6710
