SDEC Report, Redistricting, and Representation
SDEC SD9 Committeeman, Steve Ruiz, testifies on the Senate Floor at the Senate Special Committee on Redistricting on September 24th
The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity for Texas Democratic politics and the State Democratic Executive Committee. We spent most of 2020 and into the early part of 2021 navigating the pandemic while also defending Democracy. The SDEC convened on September 18, 2021, and you can view the SDEC report for that meeting here! We will also talk in-depth about Redistricting and the effects on SD9, upcoming elections, and what’s happening in my world.
Brief Recap of the September SDEC Meeting
There’s a renewed effort towards voter registration, candidate recruitment, and relational organizing by the Texas Democratic Party. In the Legislative Affairs committee, a lot of the focus was on SB1 - the anti-voting rights legislation. State House Republicans made a courageous effort during the quorum break to get much-needed federal legislation like the John Lewis Voting Rights act passed to protect voting rights for people of color and people with disabilities. The general session was mainly voting on rule changes and some rules changes proposed by the 2020 Elections Review Committee.
Rule changes are as follows:
Rule Proposal 11-v2-SDEC Rule Proposal on SDEC Quarterly Financial Reporting - PASSED
Rule Proposal 12-SDEC Rule Date and time of County and SDEC Conventions - PASSED
Rule Proposal 13-SDEC Rule on County Chair Vacancies - PASSED
Rule Proposal 14- Creation of a Quadrennial Strategic Plan - POSTPONED
Rule Proposal 15- Biennial Financial Audit - FAILED
Read details here!
Redistricting and the call for Fair Maps
As of this writing, the Texas Senate and State Board of Education Maps have all passed the Senate where they will go to the House chamber before heading to Abbott’s desk. The Congressional and House Maps have all passed out of committee. For Senate District 9, I testified in front of the Texas Senate Committee on Redistricting on September 24th against the proposed map for Senate District 9. You can read my full testimony here!
“Currently SD9 has grown to 61.5% people of color (POC) based on the 2020 census, and yet they have been redrawn to only 49.5% POC. There was a 22% increase in Latino population that closely matched the white population in this year’s census even while there was an 8.38% decrease in white population. The African American population grew by 43% and AAPI grew by 50%. The new maps should reflect the growth of communities of color and not split up and erase our voices, district by district with these new maps.”
The current Senate District 9 Map is in both Dallas and Tarrant Counties.
The proposed SD9 Map is now a majority Anglo district and is entirely in Tarrant County
The need for testimonials cannot be overstated. It is critical to the legal challenges that members of specialty constituency groups speak up and document their opinions of the impacts the proposed district lines have on their community. Republican attempts to solidify power in the upper chamber meant eliminating Democratic power in neighboring SD10 by breaking up that Senate district and extending it into Rural communities. I’ve attached a flyer that explains more of why testimonials are important, another with some talking points from our partners at Texas Civil Rights Project and Lone Star Project. Their discussion points are centered around SD10 but those changes are what’s causing a domino effect in SD9.
Please encourage your membership and our community to write and submit respectful but strong testimony regarding the overt attacks on our ability to elect candidates of our choosing. https://senate.texas.gov/redistrictingcomment/
Sharing resources from our friends at Texas Civils Rights Project and Lone Star Project on preparing your Redistricting Testimony focused on the Senate map proposal!
TX Redistricting from the Texas Democratic Party: https://txdem.co/Redistricting-TP
DON’T FORGET! Redistricting is not just at the Legislative level. County, City and ISD’s are all drawing new maps. This is your opportunity to get involved. Check out your local municipality to see if they are redistricting.
Upcoming Elections
November 2, 2021 - Municipal elections, Bond elections, and the proposed constitutional election.
In-person early voting starts Monday, October 18
The last day to apply for a ballot by mail (received, not postmarked) is Friday, October 22
The last day of in-person early voting is Friday, October 29
ELECTION DAY! (Ballot by mail must be received by 7 PM) Tuesday, November 2
Steve’s World
I am an SDEC member but I am also on the executive board for the AFL-CIO Tarrant County Central Labor Council that represents 15% of the total Union population in Texas. We were proud to host our annual Labor Day Picnic at Splash Dayz in White Settlement.
We kicked off Hispanic Heritage month on September 15th by attending the City of Grand Prairie and Grand Prairie ISD’s Hispanic Heritage celebration.
I testified to the Tarrant County Commissioner’s Court on Tuesday, September 21 in opposition of the non-transparent tax abatement with Rivian LLC on behalf of the Texas Climate Jobs Project, the coalition formed in part by the National and Texas AFL-CIO to ensure that all tax-funded projects provide good-paying jobs that are safe for the environment and bring benefits to lift the surrounding communities.
On Thursday, September 23rd I went to the Mid-Cities Democratic Forum for SD9 showcasing our two candidates for State Senate, Salman Bhojani and Gwenn Burud to a packed house.
Friday, September 24th I testified against the proposed Senate Maps at the Texas State Capitol on the Senate floor and had a meeting with Rick Levy, President of the Texas AFL-CIO, our partners in Labor regarding current legislative efforts affecting Texas Working Families.
Saturday, September 25th I attended the LULAC Council 22262 Grand Prairie meeting where I spoke about redistricting and the importance of testifying on behalf of the constituency groups. That night I attended Fort Worth City Councilmember in District 8, Chris Nettle’s Black Tie Celebration and Fundraiser.
I’m also proud to announce I am a founding member of the new Tarrant County Tejano Democrats whose mission is to seek “full representation of Hispanics at all levels and in all activities of the Democratic Party.” I am also a State Executive Board Member of the State Tejano Democrats. You don’t have to be Latino/Hispanic to join. Come be a part of the movement. State dues are $10 and you can request an application by contacting me at stevethelaborguy@gmail.com or request one at tejanodemstarrant@gmail.com. In 24 hours we got 60 new dues-paying members. We are gearing up for the State Convention happening on October 29 and 30, 2021.
The Fort Worth Women’s March and Rally was on Saturday, October 2nd where I was part of a crowd of a few thousand protesting the state’s Abortion ban bill also known as SB8.
Myself, John Medrano- Treasurer and Heather Buen with the Tarrant County Tejano Democrats banner
Just a reminder that October 11 is Indigenous Peoples Day.
In solidarity,
Steve
