Just when you thought that it couldn't get worse (you know the rest). At the April 23rd meeting of the Austin Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC), the twelve commissioners attending the meeting attempted to replace the commissioner who resigned because she was not qualified.
After discussing the various possible appointees from the list of 60 Most Qualified Applicants, the group settled on two possible candidates: Isa Boonto-Zarifis and John McKiernan-Gonzalez. After discussing the merits of each candidate, the vote was conducted. The result was a tie vote; each candidate received six votes. The Austin City Charter requires a vote of nine members to replace a member of the Commission. The Commission has failed to hold a meeting since the April 23 debacle.
But there's more. One of the commissioners, Hoang Le, who resided in SMD 8 when he applied and was selected to the Commission, now resides, according to his voter registration information, in SMD 3, which means that SMD 8 has no representation on the Commission.
The Austin City Charter [Article II, Paragraph 3, (I) (9)] states: ". . . As for the redistricting in each year ending in the number one thereafter, the eight commissioners shall ensure that at least one commission member resides in each of the then current council districts, to the extent feasible with the remaining six open seats." This means that there is no resident of SMD 8 currently on the Commission.
The Commissioners can remedy this situation by selecting the final commissioner from the several SMD 8 residents among the 60 Most Quality Applicants.
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