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By Rep. Garnet F. Coleman| Austin American-Statesman

Redistricting is often portrayed as nothing more than a partisan battle, but most importantly, redistricting sets the stage for a decade of public policy decisions that directly impact our lives and our communities. The drawing of district lines goes a long way toward determining whether the next decade will be one of progress in public education, health care, and opportunity for working Texans, or a decade of divisive culture wars.

Knowing how important it is for legislators to be directly involved in the actual drawing of redistricting plans that provide representation for those who are driving our states rapid population growth, I could not understand why some of my Democratic colleagues wanted to extend a successful quorum break indefinitely, because there was no way that the Texas Supreme Court would prevent the Legislative Redistricting Board (LRB) from drawing the lines in our absence. The five-member LRB is composed of four Republican statewide elected officials, the only exception being the Speaker of the House.

As weve seen time and again this year, putting our faith in the Texas Supreme Court is a bad idea. Half of the current members of the all Republican Court have been picked and appointed by Governor Abbott, and any glimmer of hope that the court would protect the legislatures role in redistricting was extinguished when they upheld the governor's veto of Article X legislative funding, which read more like the governor's political talking points than legal reasoning.

As a legislator I need to be prepared for the worst, and the obvious worst case scenario had we continued to break quorum indefinitely was that the Texas Supreme Court would allow the LRB to draw the maps. Allowing the LRB to draw the lines, with no formal input from legislators and our constituents, would have been a monumental disaster for people of color and a decade of policy decisions that affect their everyday lives. Whether our communities be liberal or conservative, under the current redistricting process, I believe the drawing of the maps should be done by legislators who know their communities much better than distant statewide elected officials.

After we brought national attention to federal voting rights legislation that would lead to a fair and just redistricting process, I decided to come back to the Capitol. I didnt ask anyone to come back with me. I came back because it was the best way to represent my district in the Texas House, where each member has a voice and the opportunity to represent our constituents.

The quorum break was an important part of representing our districts. We accomplished a lot by bringing voting rights to the front burner in Washington, and I share with my Democratic colleagues an intense desire to stop harmful voting rights legislation from passing. But the only available remedy for Texas and many other states that have passed discriminatory voting laws this year is federal action. U.S. Senate Democrats who, unlike Texas Democrats, have a majority and the power to pass legislation, need to act now to protect every Americans right to vote.

Now we are in Austin, working to draw lines and present redistricting plans. That option would not be available had we let the LRB take over the process. Ultimately, I may disagree with the way all or part of the redistricting plans are drawn by the legislature, but by working with my colleagues in the Texas House, I am able to draw my district in a way that best represents my constituents

Coleman, D-Houston, represents the 147th district in the Texas House.

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Rep. Coleman: I returned to Austin to protect the legislature's redistricting role - Austin American-Statesman