July 25, 2009 – The Wall Street Journal reports on Brewer Storefront’s successful Voting Rights Act lawsuit and federal court decision that ordered Irving, Texas, to reorganize its City Council election system to give Hispanics more voting power.
The reporting observed that Latino activists were using the successful case as a “template” nationwide in efforts to force electoral changes in communities.
U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis ruled that the city’s system of electing council members “at large” diluted the influence of Hispanic voters. The new system to remedy the violation was described as likely to be electing council members by district (a transition approved after this article’s publication).
The Journal article noted that following the decision, “With the data in hand, [Latino activists] plan to press politicians to give Latino residents more influence when they redraw congressional and state legislative districts, and to force cities and towns to retool municipal elections -- or face lawsuits like the one in Irving.”
The lawsuit was brought by Manuel Benavidez, a Hispanic resident, and while Latinos made up nearly 42% of the city’s population, only one Latino had won a city council seat in the prior 20 years, and he did not have a Spanish surname nor did he acknowledge any Hispanic heritage until after his election.
Bill Brewer, the attorney who represented Benavidez, said his “phone has been ringing off the hook” since the court ruling from activists in other cities who wanted to bring similar cases.
Read more here.