Choosing the Remaining Six Commissioners for the ICRC

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	Gender
1: One member	Anglo: 3 members	Female: 2 members
2: Two members	African American: 1 member	Male: 3 members
3: Two members	Asian American: 1 member
4: No members	Hispanic: 0 members

If, however, the choice for the student member is the Hispanic female, then the following criteria should guide the selection of the remaining five commissioners:

TCCC Precinct	Race/Ethnicity	Gender
1: One member	Anglo: 3 members	Female: 1 member
2: Two members	African American: 1 member	Male: 4 members
3: Two members	Asian American: 1 member
4: No members	Hispanic: 0 members

The following table lists the 52 remaining applicants, sorted by race, gender, and TCCC precinct:

Name	Ratings	Race	Gender	Zip Code	Student	TCCC Precinct
Bradford, Nathaniel	9	African American	Male	78723	No	1
VanDyke, Thomas Clifton Sr.	9	African American	Male	78702	No	1
Johnson, Henry W.	5	African American	Male	78723	No	1
Noches, Ramon Crespin	9	African American	Male	78739	No	3
Ali, Thressa Lee	9	African American	Female	78702	No	1
Lee, Nicole Michelle	5	African American	Female	78752	No	1
Newman, Holly S.	8	African American	Female	78731	No	2
Lawson, Janet Denise	9	African American	Female	78739	No	3
Rhedin, Judith A.	8	African American	Female	78759	No	3
Mahoney, Tim Raymond	9	Anglo	Male	78723	No	1
Martin, Nicholas Louis	9	Anglo	Male	78754	No	1
Art, David T.	9	Anglo	Male	78703	No	2
Hignight, Heath Kerr	9	Anglo	Male	78756	No	2
Christianson, James (Jim)	8	Anglo	Male	78703	No	2
Costello, T.J.	8	Anglo	Male	78727	No	2
Haag, Stefan David	9	Anglo	Male	78749	No	3
Zigrossi, Sam Joe	9	Anglo	Male	78750	No	3
Rafols, Ryan Andrew	9	Anglo	Male	78705	Yes	3
Haley, Benjamin Paschal	8	Anglo	Male	78726	No	3
Stansberry, Paul K.	8	Anglo	Male	78739	No	3
Callahan, Jason Todd	9	Anglo	Male	78704	No	4
Harcrow, Kami Rene	9	Anglo	Female	78752	No	1
Tyler, Jessica Leigh	9	Anglo	Female	78752	No	1
Brisbin, Shelly D.	9	Anglo	Female	78705	No	2
Dickens, Linda	9	Anglo	Female	78703	No	2
Risovi, Janet Lea	9	Anglo	Female	78751	No	2
Everton, Araminta L.	8	Anglo	Female	78731	No	2
Frey, Peg Frederick (Seaufy)	8	Anglo	Female	78757	No	2
Harrow, Harriett	8	Anglo	Female	78759	No	2
Gibbs, Lucy Leaton	9	Anglo	Female	78736	No	3
Gray, Melissa Rebecca	9	Anglo	Female	78759	No	3
Kurth, Lynn LaRue	9	Anglo	Female	78735	No	3
Johnson, Helen Benner	8	Anglo	Female	78749	No	3
Kumar, Pradeep	8	Asian American	Male	78703	No	2
Cocco, Catherine T.	8	Asian American	Female	78759	No	3
Person, Maria D.	9	Asian American/ Anglo	Female	78756	No	2
Davalos, David	9	Hispanic	Male	78723	No	1
Garcia, Gavin Lance	9	Hispanic	Male	78723	No	1
Aleman, Steven R.	5	Hispanic	Male	78702	No	1
Garcia, Gerald William	9	Hispanic	Male	78748	No	3
Martinez, Gilbert D.	9	Hispanic	Male	78749	No	3
Rice, David	9	Hispanic	Male	78745	No	3
Reyna, Roy	8	Hispanic	Male	78704	No	3
Almanza, Librado Pablo	9	Hispanic	Male	78741	No	4
Gonzales, Alberto C.	9	Hispanic	Male	78748	No	4
Gonzales, Dominic L.	8	Hispanic	Male	78741	No	4
Mejia-Diethe, Ana Isabel	9	Hispanic	Female	78703	No	2
Robles, Samantha	9	Hispanic	Female	78705	Yes	3
Luevanos, Maria Carmen	8	Hispanic	Female	78704	No	3
Aguirre, Ana Torres	9	Hispanic	Female	78744	No	4
Casarez, Ruth	9	Hispanic	Female	78704	No	4
Hexsel, Maria Cantu	8	Hispanic	Female	78704	No	4

Green fill: students

Note: The data are sorted by race, then by gender, then by TCCC precinct

The criteria that the eight commissioners use in making their selections will be interesting to follow. For example, will the race/ethnicity be the first criterion? Also, what role will TCCC precinct and gender play in the selection process? Finally, will the ARP members’ ratings of the applicants be instrumental in the selection process, or will the eight commissioners re-evaluate the applicants and substitute their ratings for the ARP panel members’ ratings?

Stay tuned as the selection process and choice of six commissioners progresses.

Be advised that I am one of the 52 applicants and that may have affected my criterion for choosing the remaining six commissioners.