During the recent regular and special session the Texas Legislature undertook the redistricting process, which is a once every ten year task of readjusting our state and federal districts in order to accommodate population trends that took place over the last decade.
Redistricting was a very important issue for Denton County. As a fast growth county, our legislative districts were going to change. In the end, some still resemble their original makeup while others did change significantly. Below, I will detail the impact these maps will have on the county we call home.
Congressional Redistricting
Our new congressional landscape strongly resembles that of our current makeup. The Denton County portions of Carrollton remain in Congressman Marchant’s 24th district and virtually the rest of Denton County anchors Congressman Burgess’s 26th district. The tremendous population growth in our home county allowed Congressman Burgess to lose a lot of the areas outside of our county that he currently represents, this now means he will be able to focus even more on Denton County’s priorities in the United States House of Representatives.
Texas Senate
Denton County’s growth meant that we undertook a beneficial change in our Senate Districts. Instead of being diluted through three Senate Districts, Denton County is now a large part of two districts, with Highway 380 generally serving as the dividing line. Communities north of 380 will remain in the 30th district that stretches through North Texas while communities south of 380 are joined together as a part of the reconfigured 12th district. I am most pleased that many of the communities I represent in the State House, such as Flower Mound, are no longer split amongst multiple Senate Districts.
Texas House of Representatives
Unmistakably, the most dramatic change in Denton County lies in our Texas House of Representatives Districts. Because of our ten-year population growth, Denton County gained an extra seat in the state’s lower chamber. This means instead of three State Representatives working on behalf of our county, we will now have four.
The seat I represent was reduced to the southwest corner of the county, starting in western Lewisville and extending through Flower Mound and all of the surrounding communities and concluding near Highway 380 just to the west of the city of Denton. Many of the northern communities that I’ve long represented, such as Sanger, Aubrey and Pilot Point, are now part of the new district that will extend south through Frisco, Little Elm and the Colony. The city of Denton continues to anchor a seat and will be joined by smaller communities to the southeast along with Krum to the northwest. Our fourth district will be positioned between western Lewisville and the Denton County portions of Carrollton.
Denton County benefited tremendously from this redistricting cycle and I would like to thank my legislative neighbor to the east, Chairman Burt Solomons, for guiding the Texas House through this complicated process. Our voice in state and federal government has strengthened and we have our many fine communities to thank for being such an attractive place to live, work and raise a family.
If you ever wish to share a thought or comment on this or other state related issues, please feel free to contact me at my Capitol office at 512-463-0688 or by e-mail at [email protected]. As always, it is an honor to serve you in the Texas House of Representatives.
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