Several Texas Dems Spend Night In Chamber With Rep. Nicole Collier
Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier has been confined to the state House chamber since Monday after refusing to sign an agreement that would put her under police surveillance. Several Texas Democrats joined Rep. Collier on Tuesday, ripping up their agreements and staying confined to the House.
According to CNN, Democratic state Reps. Mihaela Plesa, Morales Shaw, Rhetta Bowers, Cassandra Garcia Hernandez, Gene Wu, and Salman Bhojani joined Collier on the floor overnight. They were among several Texas Democrats who left the state for 15 days to deny Texas Republicans the quorum needed to vote on a new legislative map. On Monday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows issued a mandate requiring the Texas Democrats who left the state to agree to police surveillance if they wanted to leave the chamber.
“Members who have not been present until today for whom arrest warrants were issued will be granted written permission to leave only after agreeing to be released into the custody of a designated DPS officer appointment under the rules of the House who will ensure your return on Wednesday at 10 a.m.,” Burrows said on Monday.
Rep. Collier immediately rejected those terms and was essentially held as a political prisoner for the last two days.
“I refuse to sign away my dignity as a duly elected representative just so Republicans can control my movements and monitor me with police escorts. My community is majority-minority, and they expect me to stand up for their representation. When I press that button to vote, I know these maps will harm my constituents — I won’t just go along quietly with their intimidation or their discrimination,” Rep. Nicole Collier said in a statement.
Several Texas Democrats held a news conference on Tuesday announcing they would join Collier in protesting the requirements set by Texas Republicans.
“Yesterday, I left in custody and I came back in custody, because I stand with Nicole Collier and Gene Wu,” Rep. Penny Morales Shaw said during a news conference on Tuesday. “This is illegitimate, this is a wrongful use of power, and I will not condone it, and I don’t want to be a part of setting a very bad and low precedent for future legislators.”
“Why would we be considered a flight risk if we walked in of our own volition?” Rep. Bowers during the news conference. “This is a blatant violation of our freedoms as Texans, as Americans and as duly elected officials.”
The Texas redistricting saga began in July when President Donald Trump requested that Gov. Greg Abbott initiate a rare, mid-decade redistricting process to protect the GOP’s slim majority in the House. Gov. Abbott called a special legislative session under the guise of flood relief, but it was quickly apparent that redistricting was the priority for Texas Republicans. Texas Republicans revealed a new map that adds five House seats in districts Trump won by double digits.
Rep. Nicole Collier and several other Texas Democrats left the state to force the special session to a close without a vote on the new map. Gov. Abbott and the Texas Republicans had the totally reasonable response of ordering the arrest of the Texas Democrats, filing a lawsuit to have Rep. Gene Wu removed from his seat, and requesting the FBI hunt down the fleeing Democrats. Just normal, completely not alarming things that happen in a functional democracy, you know?
Gov. Abbott immediately called another special session last Friday, with a vote on the new map expected to take place on Wednesday.
The resistance of Rep. Nicole Collier and the Texas Democrats has received support from Democratic legislators nationwide. Former Vice President Kamala Harris called Rep. Collier on Tuesday to show her support. “[Vice President Harris] said, ‘Keep going.’ She said, ‘Don’t give up. Stand strong. Stand tall, and don’t back down,” Rep. Collier told CNN’s Dana Bash.
The Texas redistricting effort has spurred several Blue states to take up redistricting efforts of their own. Former Attorney General Eric Holder has met with House Democrats to discuss strategy on combating Republican redistricting efforts. Most notably, California Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced the Election Rigging Response Act last week. California will hold a special election on Nov. 4, where voters will decide whether the state legislature can temporarily take control of the state’s electoral maps for the next five years to actively neutralize the redistricting efforts of Texas and other red states.
SEE ALSO: