Rotten Boroughs, Political Thickets, and Legislative Donnybrooks: Redistricting in Texas ed. by Gary A. Keith (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Rotten Boroughs, Political Thickets, and Legislative Donnybrooks: Redistricting in Texas ed. by Gary A. Keith John H. Barnhill Rotten Boroughs, Political Thickets, and Legislative Donnybrooks: Redistricting in Texas. Edited by Gary A. Keith (Austin: University of Texas, 2013. Pp. 224. Maps, figures, notes, sources cited, index.) After each decennial census, states redistrict themselves to bring political districts back into line with changing population distribution and totals. What was once an option is now imperative since Baker v. Carr and the Voting Rights Act of [End Page 236] 1965. After the first mandated redistricting of 1965, Texas has taken to redistricting and, in fact, has been known to attempt redistricting more often than the mandatory once a decade. Whether in the legislature, the state redistricting board, or the courts, in Texas redistricting is an ongoing process that runs almost from one census to the next. The tale of Texas redistricting may not match the drama and excitement of early settlement or independence, but it has its own moments of high drama and low humor. A thorough study of Texas redistricting over the past half century would require multiple volumes. This work has no pretensions toward being that comprehensive study. Rather, the purpose of Rotten Boroughs, Political Thickets, and Legislative Donnybrooks is to provide an impressionist interpretation of redistricting as it has unfolded historically, what the editor refers to as a mosaic, with particular emphasis on the years from 1965. The book contains half a dozen essays of varying length and styles. Gary Keith not only edits but also gets a considerable share of the workload. He is author of the introduction, the historical background, and the two end pieces. Professor of government and international affairs at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Keith has previously published in Texas history and government. After Keith’s historical overview, Craig Washington the long-time politician, writes from his extensive experience with local and state level redistricting. Then come the lawyers. Democrat David Richards and Republican J. F. Pauerstein provide insider perspectives on successful redistricting in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. José Garza writes on the expansion of Hispanic representation by dealing with Texas litigation with national implications. Rounding out the contributor essays is the political science quantification of the effects of redistricting on political participation, constituent loyalty to incumbents, and party alignment in the two most recent redistricting efforts and subsequent elections. Finally, Keith brings the story up to 2012 in a concluding essay and offers a list of general rules for successful redistricting. Significantly, the update is already outdated after the recent U.S. Supreme Court rejection of the preclearance provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Redistricting is a complex issue, and the single redistricting effort of 2003 required 400 pages of explication in Steve Bickerstaff’s Lines in the Sand (2007). Rotten Boroughs is a survey that encompasses not just a single episode but the broad swath of redistricting politics and litigation since 1964. Authors must cover a large amount of history in a small number of pages, just ten to twenty per article. Given so little space in which to explore large and complex topics, authors have little space for non-essential detours through the brambles and backwaters of Texas politics. Given that this volume is a survey with a total for all the articles of just 159 pages, a more nuanced and lively treatment is impossible. Overall, although it falls inevitably short of the ideal, this survey is not unsatisfactory. While short of the donnybrooks and rotten boroughs promised by the title, the volume still gives insights into the politics of redistricting. Even the reader knowledgeable of Texas politics will come away from this work with a fuller understanding of how redistricting has worked over half a century and why it matters. For the novice, this volume serves nicely as an introduction to a complex but important topic, one that remains as timely as today’s news. The mosaic achieves its objectives, and that is more than sufficient for one volume. [End Page 237] John H. Barnhill Houston, Texas Copyright © 2014 The Texas State Historical Association