Spectrum News 1 Reports on Brewer Storefront Voting Rights Case

On April 30, 2022, Spectrum News 1 reported on a voting rights lawsuit brought on behalf of plaintiff Paige Dixon by Brewer Storefront challenging Lewisville ISD’s system of electing trustees. The lawsuit argues that the election system violates the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and denies equal representation to people of color.

William Brewer, Dixon’s attorney, said that many Texas school districts are diverse but that is not reflected on school boards because of at-large voting systems used to elect trustees. “That means that if you have a voting [bloc] that is involved, turns out at the ballot box, that group can control the election of all seven seats,” he said.

Brewer said that similar lawsuits will continue to come up as the state grows and more school districts with at-large election systems have gaps in representation.

Dixon lives in Lewisville and ran for the Lewisville ISD school board last year and lost.

To read more, click here.

Lake Highlands Advocate Reports on First Hispanic Trustee Elected in Richardson ISD After Brewer Storefront Voting Rights Case

On July 27, 2020, The Lake Highlands Advocate reported that Debbie Rentería was sworn in as the first ever Hispanic trustee on the Richardson Independent School District (RISD) Board of Trustees in May.  

Rentería represents majority-minority District 3, which was created after a Brewer Storefront Voting Rights Act lawsuit was brought on behalf of plaintiff and former RISD board member David Tyson. The Storefront is the community service legal affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.

A settlement reached with RISD established a new election system including five single member districts, of which two districts are minority “opportunity” districts. Regina Harris, who is African American, was elected to the District 4 opportunity district in November 2019.  

“When I saw that Debbie Rentería didn’t draw an opponent – and I don’t mean this to sound biblical – I said, ‘It is finished. My part is finished. We’ve achieved what we sought,” Tyson told the Advocate. “What we wanted was opportunity for people of color to feel comfortable running.” 

Read More

The Dallas Morning News Reports on Brewer Storefront Voting Rights Case

On March 27, 2020, The Dallas Morning News reported on a Brewer Storefront Voting Rights Act lawsuit moving forward toward trial. The Storefront is the community service legal affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors.

The article reported that a federal judge "refused to throw out a voting rights lawsuit against the Frisco school district, allowing the case to move forward to trial. The lawsuit alleges that the district's election system is discriminatory against minority candidates because school trustees are elected at-large to represent all of the district."

Read More →