Texas Politics & Government: Ideas and Institutions

Professor Steve Bickerstaff, UT Law School and author of Proposition 3, sent a letter to the members of the ICRC providing some suggestions on . . . “how the commission might begin its organization.” The important takeaways: Rotation of the commission chair position : This would foster a “positive relationship [among members of the commission] by reducing internal power struggles and centralization of power.” Interviewing applicants for the remaining positions on the commission : California officials used interviews in selecting their members. Bickerstaff asks the commission to consider whether interviews are desirable. Diversity on the commission : Bickerstaff states that “Complying with the requirements of Proposition 3 is absolutely necessary, but the way in which the requirements are met is your task. However, it is apparent that, given the importance of the Voting Rights Act, one or more African-Americans should be added to the panel. . . . In California, the six a...

In choosing the remaining six members of the ICRC, the eight commissioners are limited somewhat by the Austin city charter, which dictates that at least one member of the ICRC be a student and should, if possible, contain at least three members from each Travis County Commissioners Court (TCCC) and reflect the racial/ethnic and gender of Austin’s population. According to the 2010 census, Austin’s population was 48.7 percent Anglo, 35.1 percent Hispanic, 7.7 percent African American, 6.3 percent Asian American, and 2.2 percent other. Given these parameters, what characteristics should the remaining six commissioners possess? First, of the two students on the list of 60 most qualified, one is an Anglo male from TCCC precinct 3 and the other is a Hispanic female from TCCC precinct 3. If the choice for the student member is the Anglo male student, then the following criteria should guide the selection of the remaining five commissioners: TCCC Precinct Race/Ethnicity...