As we reported in an earlier blog post, residents of Southeast Arlington between I-20 on the South and Hwy 303 on the North and between Hwy 360 on the east and New York Avenue on the west will now be represented by State Senator Royce West. What we did not know at that time was Senator West is a UT Arlington alumnus and a proud former wide receiver on the UTA Maverick football team. In a meeting with our CEO, Michael Jacobson, and head of Public Policy, Bill Lynch, he shared that he had been trying for years to get part of Arlington added to his Senate District.
Senator West indicated that he had great affection for Arlington and hopes to be able to support the legislative needs of the city and especially UTA. Senator West is a Democrat who has served in the Senate since January of 1993. In the 87th Legislature, he serves on the Senate Education, Finance and Transportation Committees. He is also Vice-Chair of the Higher Education Committee. His experience in the Texas Legislature, his tenure and seniority, and his interest in Arlington will make him a valuable addition to Arlington’s representation in the Legislature.
Parts of Arlington are now represented by four State Senate Districts where the current incumbents in addition to Senator West are Senators Powell, Birdwell and Hancock. This equates to almost 13% of the vote in the Senate representing parts of Arlington. The previous maps had Senator West’s District 23 totally in Dallas County with 51% of the city of Dallas and 34% of the county. The new map shows District 23 with a small portion of Tarrant County as well as Dallas County.