Some Oppose Local Hispanic House District

Hispanic leaders are set to meet Wednesday with state officials in Little Rock to discuss creating the state’s first Hispanic-majority House district in Northwest Arkansas, but not all local leaders are in favor of the district.

Former Walmart executive Adam Arroyos, who heads an organization of Hispanic professionals, said he worries a Hispanic-majority legislative district may create divisiveness among political and ethnic groups in Northwest Arkansas.

By The Numbers

Population

• Fayetteville: 73,580

• Springdale: 69,797

• Rogers: 55,964

• Bentonville: 35,301

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

“We need to start talking as one community,” Arroyos said of groups in Washington and Benton counties. He is national director of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting. The organization now is known only by its acronym, ALPFA, because it includes members from professional fields other than finance and accounting, Arroyos said.

Mireya Reith, executive director of Rogers-based Arkansas United Community Coalition, and seven other Hispanic leaders are to meet at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday with staff members representing the Arkansas Board of Apportionment’s three elected officials, she said. The board is comprised of two Democrats, Gov. Mike Beebe and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, and Republican Secretary of State Mark Martin.

The meeting will occur in the office of the board’s staff member, Joe Woodson Jr., who also will attend, Reith said. It will center on creating a majority-Hispanic House district to include parts of Rogers and Springdale east of U.S. 71B, she said.

The population in Springdale is 35.4 percent Hispanic, and the population in Rogers is 31.5 percent Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Reith said no Hispanic person in Arkansas has been elected to a state office. Beebe appointed Reith on Thursday to the state Board of Education.

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Proposed Maps

View proposed legislative district maps and comment at arkansasredistricting.org.

“The Hispanic community doesn’t always feel involved in the political process,” she said.

Kathy Jaycox, a Springdale City Council member, said the creation of a Hispanic-majority district might be viewed as favoring one group over another. Northwest Arkansas is trying to work as a region in promoting the area’s interests, she said.

“To create a district for a particular group doesn’t seem to be in the best interest of the area,” Jaycox said.

Reith said Arroyos and Jaycox have not expressed their concerns to her.

“As in any community, there are always different views,” she said.

The Board of Apportionment is redrawing Arkansas’ 100 House and 35 Senate districts to reflect population shifts shown in the 2010 U.S. Census. Fast-growing Washington and Benton counties are slated to gain one Senate and three House districts. South Arkansas is expected to lose seats.

Woodson said the board probably would create a Hispanic-majority House district before creating a Hispanic-majority Senate district. The ideal size of each new Senate district is 83,312, while the ideal size of each new House district is 29,159. It is easier to fill a smaller House district with the number of residents required to make it majority-Hispanic, he said. The ideal sizes are determined by dividing the state’s population of 2.9 million by 100 House or 35 Senate districts.

The Board of Apportionment website notes districts should be drawn to preserve communities of interest.

Woodson said state officials complying with judicial rulings over the years have created 13 House and four Senate districts with a majority of black residents. Most of those districts are in the central and southern parts of the state, but some are in east Arkansas, he said.

The governor and attorney general will release their proposed redistricting maps July 19, Woodson said. The maps will be posted on the Board of Apportionment website. Martin’s proposals are on the website.

The board will conduct a public hearing in Little Rock on July 25, and then vote July 29.

The new districts would take effect 30 days after the board approves a map, according to its website.

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