TYLER, Texas — Once the 2020 census data is available, it will change the way Texas looks at a state level and a local level.
City council redistricting is commonplace after a census. At Wednesday's city council meeting, members of the community spoke out in favor of giving Tyler residents more input.
"We are here today to encourage or request that the city council consider impaneling an independent redistricting committee that is made up of citizens of the community," Co-President for the League of Women's Voters Rubye Kendrick said.
Kendrick is one of the people to speak to Tyler's city council in favor of an outside committee. She says it's important that every group in Tyler is represented.
"We are a very diverse community here in this area, and everyone should be allowed to have some input," she added.
While feedback was heard from the community, it won't be until sometime between October and December that redistricting will take place.
Tyler city manager Edward Broussard says they think Tyler will see an increase in the population, ending anywhere from 110,000 to more than 114,000 people which will affect how districts are drawn.
"There's really just a kind of 60 days or less, that we have to be able to kind of utilize as far as from the initial presentation of the census information to the approval of the new maps," he said.
At least one Tyler city council member is on board for bringing in an independent group. Tyler councilwoman Shirley McKellar says there are places in her own district that don't make sense based on the current layout.
"When I first came on Council and I ran there were many people that called me and said I went down to vote for you and they told me I couldn't. On one street where Councilman McGee and I serve on the same street, two houses on that one street may belong to him, the rest of them may belong to me.
Not everyone was in favor of having an independent committee and no decision came today. This will be something the council addressed in later meetings.
