The Houston City Council has initiated their Redistricting process. And, already, it has become contentious.

The City is ahead of the Legislature as it holds elections this November and has a tight deadline to meet for Justice Department approval.

Last week, Council took up the discussion and immediately a disagreement emerged over the addition of two new seats dictated by City Charter when the City’s population hits 2.1 million.

In case you missed it, the City’s official Census population fell short of 2.1 million – by about 547 people. Ouch! This total is somewhat like losing a slim election. One can only think if a few more people had returned their applications or we would have done just a bit more, the population would have easily surpassed 2.1 million.

In fact, the City’s redistricting expert has identified mistakes made by the Census, including the exclusion of a neighborhood from the City’s count that was actually in the city limits.

Realistically, with a 72% return of Census forms, we all know that the population is actually larger than 2.1 million.

However, that will not stop Council Members from putting up a good fight regarding expansion of their exclusive group. Why are they so resistant? So many people have asked me this question in the last few days.

It’s very simple. The addition of these two new seats is significantly going to change the existing Districts and they are nervous about preservation of their own districts and dilution of their community of voters.

Their reasons are much more concrete than this, however. They say that the City cannot afford the cost of adding two new Council Members right now. This will mean two new salaries, reconfiguration of offices at City Hall, additional staff, more letterhead, etc. Do we really need that expense right now, they ask?

If they do not add the seats, there is certain to be legal action and this will also cost the city money.

Either way, funds will be expended.

The Mayor has called a special meeting to discuss this topic for Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. at City Council. They will cuss and discuss the issue in detail.

The true question remains – the City Charter clearly states that the two seats must be added. Experts have identified additional population but the official count falls just under the requirement. What will they do?