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Austin prepares for first-ever City Council redistricting

Tuesday, June 16, 2020 by Tai Moses

Once every decade, Austin residents participate in a process to redraw the boundaries of City Council districts. These boundaries impact city government and shape how Austinites will be represented by their leaders for the next 10 years, so this process matters – a lot. This is actually the first time in city history to redraw these maps, as the existing Council districts were drawn in 2013 and much has changed since then; for starters, the city is more populous and more diverse. To educate residents about this historic process and motivate some to get personally involved, Austin City Auditor Corrie Stokes and her staff will be holding an interactive virtual town hall, open to the entire community, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 18. “We hope you will join us as redistricting only occurs once every ten years and coincides with the census,” Stokes said in a news release. In addition to giving an overview, Stokes will describe two ways for residents to participate in the redistricting process: by joining the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, which is tasked with redrawing the boundaries of the Council districts; or serving on the Applicant Review Panel, which selects the candidates for the redistricting commission. Besides Stokes, Deputy City Auditor Jason Hadavi, Senior Auditor Maria Stroth, Senior Auditor Eletu-Odibo Temitope and Senior Auditor Kelsey Thompson will be on hand and the town hall meeting will be moderated by Patricia Fraga. The meeting will be broadcast and livestreamed on ATXN and livestreamed on the Austin city auditor’s Facebook page. Have questions? The auditor’s office will be taking questions beginning Tuesday, June 16, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, by email at redistrictatx@austintexas.gov or by phone at 512-974-2805. But first, we suggest you check out RedistrictATX.org– the snazzy new website explains everything you’ll want to to know about redistricting and why it affects the next 10 years of life in Austin.

 

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