TOP Calls on County Commissioners Court to Extend Map Deadlines to Allow for Greater Community Input  

Fort Bend County, like other counties across Texas, is currently in the process of redistricting. Redistricting is an opportunity that Texans have every 10 years to represent recent demographic changes in the county at the precinct level, according to new data from the census. Redistricting at the Fort Bend County level should accurately reflect the demographics of the community, and to ensure that happens, the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) is calling on the County Commissioners Court to extend map deadlines to allow for greater community input. Currently, control of the county is split 2-2, which is both politically and demographically disproportionate. The district is majority nonwhite, with Latinos being the largest community of color, a statistic which should be accurately reflected in the redistricting process.

Texas Organizing Project (TOP) is concerned that the county redistricting process will mirror redistricting at the state level, which weakened the votes of people of color and shored up Republican power. These new maps will have significant political impact for the next decade in shaping not just Fort Bend County politics, but the policies that have the potential to transform how we experience our everyday lives. We need to ensure the votes of people of color are protected and that means drawing districts that don’t dilute their power. 

“During the last special legislative session, right-wing state leadership successfully shrunk the political power of communities of color across Texas through the redistricting process. Despite this, one way we can continue to win progressive policies that change everyday lives — from bail reform to COVID relief — in counties across the state is to work with county commissioners courts to draw lines for their precincts that actually reflect the Census,” said Brianna Brown, TOP’s Co-Executive Director. “Our theory of change has always centered on a strong local strategy, in our cities and counties, that builds the political power of communities of color eventually to statewide victories,” continued Brown.

“Although there are impending election deadlines, it’s clear that more time for thorough public input and consideration of that input is needed to ensure that Fort Bend County precinct lines accurately reflect growth and provide fair and equal representation. Taking the appropriate amount of time to slow down the process so the maps can fairly incorporate both community input and census data is critical not only for current residents who call Fort Bend home, but for all future residents as well,” said Fort Bend County District Attorney Brian Middleton.

###

Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.

This press release was sent out October 22, 2021.

The following is a statement from Michelle Tremillo, Co-Executive Director of the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) in response to the Texas House and Senate adjourning Sine Die, concluding the state’s third legislative special session:

“Governor Abbott and Texas Republicans proved to us again in this latest special session that it’s cruelty that drives their policy-making, not humanity and the issues affecting the daily lives of their constituents.

“From drawing redistricting maps that dilute the strength of voters of color, to passing policies that attack the dignity and violate the rights of transgender Texans, Abbott and his GOP enablers have once more prioritized callousness and discrimination over reason and progress.

“Since the very start, Abbott’s special sessions have been nothing more than partisan ‘dog and pony shows’ with the dual intention of scapegoating working-class Black and Latino Texans already reeling from this ongoing pandemic, and appeasing far-right extremists — notably the twice-impeached former president.

“These special sessions and the regressive policies they spawned have made crystal clear how pivotal next year’s elections will be to the future of our state. Coordinating with strategic partners, TOP remains committed to doing everything within our collective power to uphold Texans’ rights against Greg Abbott’s extremist agenda as we counter it by building a Texas For All where Black and Latino Texans are centered in advancing bold, progressive change that improves all of our communities.”

###

Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.

This statement was sent out October 19, 2021.

The following is a statement from Brianna Brown, Co-Executive Director of the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) in response to Governor Greg Abbott’s appointment of John Scott as Texas Secretary of State:

“Governor Abbott is endorsing Donald Trump’s lies and demagoguery with his new Secretary of State selection, John Scott. Scott recently worked with Trump to falsely challenge the results of the 2020 election in Pennsylvania. It’s absurd to put Scott in charge of election administration when it’s clear he does not believe in our democratic institutions or the security of our elections. Abbott’s selection further shows us that he acts in the best interest of Trump, not the Texans he was elected to serve.

“By choosing Scott, an attorney who represented the former president in radical efforts to overturn last year’s election, Abbott is signaling to all across the state that he supports the undermining of free and fair elections, as well as the sabotage of democracy itself.

“Abbott, who just months ago forced through discriminatory legislation suppressing voters of color, is now paving the way for even more voter disenfranchisement and deceitful audits, all in a pathetic attempt to satisfy a man who incited a white supremacist insurrection at our nation’s Capitol.

“Time is working against Texas voters. Absolutely all options must be exhausted by Democrats in Congress to ensure immediate passage of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Anything less is a dereliction of duty that leaves our state exposed to further attacks on our voting rights.”

###

Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.

This statement was sent out October 21, 2021.

The following statement is from Laquita Garcia, Statewide Right2Justice Policy Coordinator for Texas Organizing Project (TOP), in response to the U.S. Department of Justice today announcing an investigation into five Texas juvenile correctional facilities:

“TOP applauds the Department of Justice for launching this investigation and looking into appalling allegations of abuse that have plagued our state’s juvenile justice system for years.

“It is paramount that the fundamental rights of our young people in these facilities are being fully observed and protected at all times.

“We expect nothing less than a thorough investigation to ensure that reports of mistreatment and inappropriate conduct from staff in these five juvenile facilities are acted upon swiftly with strong consequences.”

###

Texas Organizing Project organizes Black and Latino communities in Dallas, Harris and Bexar counties with the goal of transforming Texas into a state where working people of color have the power and representation they deserve. For more information, visit organizetexas.org.

This statement was sent out October 13, 2021.