Waco’s David Sibley and Granbury’s Brian Birdwell have been arguing about tax policy, the state budget, immigration and who’s more conservative as they vie in a state Senate special election runoff.

But their match might be better summed up in terms of geography, based on May 8 results.

Somewhat of a power struggle is playing out between Fort Worth’s fast-growing southern suburbs and Waco, which has grown modestly by comparison.

David Sibley (right) and Brian Birdwell were the top two vote-getters in the May 8 special election.

In a videotaped interview of Sibley by the Hood County News, a newspaper staffer put forward this local concern: “There are some people here in Hood County who feel that the District 22 Senate seat has long been held by Waco, and some people have said it’s our turn.”

If having local representation in Austin, Washington and on regional judicial bodies is the yardstick for success, Hood County has fared poorly.

The county hasn’t had a local representative in the state Legislature since 1981, when Ed Mayes, a conservative Democrat from Granbury, served in the state House.

Waco’s Chet Edwards represents Hood County in the U.S. House of Representatives. And the county is part of the Second Court of Appeals, which is based in Fort Worth and composed of six Fort Worth-area judges.

As far as the Senate seat is concerned, the southern suburbs of Fort Worth and Dallas have grown in voting power since 2001. That was the year the district’s lines were redrawn to include Ellis County and northern Johnson County.

Former state Sen. Kip Averitt praised the map at the time.

“McLennan County is the base of the district, which is obviously a good thing for interests in Waco,” said Averitt, whose March resignation triggered the special election.

McLennan County and the adjacent rural counties in the district made up 51 percent of the district’s population, according to U.S. Census data. In 2009, that share was down to 47 percent.

From 2001-09 Ellis, Hood and Johnson counties grew by 26, 19 and 18 percent, respectively, adding a total of 70,000 new residents.

By contrast, the rest of the district grew by 23,000 people. McLennan County — which remains the largest county in the district — was responsible for the bulk of that increase.

As early as last October signs emerged that some in Hood County political circles were growing weary of having Waco representation.

Hood County Republican Party chair Jack Williams attended the political event of an Averitt rival while he was still the sitting senator.

“I just flat don’t know him” Williams said of Averitt.

Sibley told the Hood County News that wouldn’t be the case with him.

Plans for projects

He rattled off several projects with which he hoped to help the county. He specifically referred to a dangerous railroad crossing in Cresson and redistricting.

He said he’d work to make sure Hood County doesn’t get lumped into a megadistrict with 30 counties stretching out to West Texas, which has shrunk in terms of its population share of the state.

He also said he’d make himself accessible.

“I don’t want to make a pest out of myself, but I will be up here a lot,” he said.

It’s not clear if the growth pattern in the district was anticipated when maps were approved by the state’s Legislative Redistricting Board.

“It always seems legislators think they know where the population will grow in the next decade, but sometimes they are simply wrong,” University of Texas law professor and redistricting expert Steve Bickerstaff said in an e-mail.

Growth fits trend

Bickerstaff said the growth fits the 50-year trend in Texas, where the largest cities have piled on population. That growth has been notable in suburban areas, which have in turn accumulated clout.

In the local Senate race, the May 8 results show the suburban Metroplex counties are not acting in lockstep — while Birdwell won big in his home county and in neighboring Johnson County, Sibley was the leading vote-getter in Ellis County farther east and just south of Dallas.

mshapiro@wacotrib.com

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