Storefront Launches Texas Voting Rights Initiative

On March 7, 2024, the Brewer Storefront announced the launch of the Texas Voting Rights Initiative (“TVRI”), a statewide effort focused on ensuring that Texas school boards operate in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (“VRA”). The Storefront undertook an extensive analysis of voting systems across Texas and believes that many operate in violation of the VRA.

The TVRI will continue to analyze voting systems used for electing school board trustees and city council members across Texas, advance written scholarship, and pursue legal action to uphold and strengthen voting rights. 

The TVRI is supported by the Brewer Storefront, the public service legal affiliate of the national litigation firm Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors. Since its establishment in 1995, the Storefront has brought numerous successful voting rights lawsuits on behalf of Latino, African American and Asian voters across North Texas.

““The Texas Voting Rights Initiative will promote democratic principles and voter equality at an important time. We believe our political institutions work best when they give all voters an opportunity to elect candidates of their choosing.”    ”
— William A. Brewer III, Brewer Storefront chairman

Why It Matters – Equality and Opportunity in Education

A lack of diversity and equitable geographic representation on school boards often leads to underfunded schools, school and student achievement gaps, and disenfranchised voters.

In Texas, a considerable academic achievement gap still exists between white and minority students. In 2023, 64% of white students met grade level across all grades and subjects tested on the STAAR exam, compared to 42% of Hispanic students and 36% of African American students who met grade level. Given this disparity, Brewer Storefront believes the communities of color that Texas school districts educate deserve fair representation on elected school boards.

The need for a statewide voting rights initiative in Texas is critical, given its status as the nation’s second largest state, with a population exceeding 30 million people. Texas is a majority-minority state, with Hispanics as its largest population group. Despite this, many elected bodies, including local school boards and city councils, fail to reflect the state’s demographics, especially as voters of color continue to make up an increasing share of the electorate.

The TVRI’s initial focus is on school boards since as of last year, nearly three-quarters of the students enrolled in Texas public schools were children of color, and about 53% of all students were Hispanic.

The Storefront has successfully challenged many at-large election systems and inequitably drawn single-member districts. Through lawsuits filed under the Voting Rights Act, these challenges have argued that such systems deprive voters of color of a fair opportunity to meaningfully participate in the electoral process and to elect school board representatives or city council members of their choosing.  

The Storefront pursues its voting rights cases under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate based on race, color, or membership in a language minority group.   This advocacy frequently results in the establishment of single-member districts, ensuring minority voters have a fair opportunity in the electoral process and enabling them to actively participate in shaping the political landscape.

Following its assessment, the TVRI, through the Storefront, issued warning letters to 11 Texas school districts alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act. The school districts are Alamo Heights Independent School District, Angleton Independent School District, Arlington Independent School District, Corsicana Independent School District, Dumas Independent School District, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District, Garland Independent School District, Humble Independent School District, Lufkin Independent School District, New Braunfels Independent School District, and Texarkana Independent School District.

“We urge these school districts to take proactive steps in adopting election systems that comply with the Voting Rights Act and create districts that give voters of color a fair opportunity to participate in the electoral process,” Brewer said. “Elected school boards should reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.”

The letters request that the school boards in these districts take corrective actions and implement opportunity districts where a majority of eligible voters are Hispanic or African American.

The Storefront previously achieved winning outcomes in Voting Rights Act cases with the Lewisville Independent School District in August 2023, Richardson Independent School District in 2019, Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District in 2015; City of Grand Prairie in 2015; Irving Independent School District in 2014; Grand Prairie Independent School District in 2014; City of Farmers Branch in 2012; and City of Irving in 2009. These school districts and city councils now utilize remodeled voting systems.  

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Firm Scores Landmark Victory Against City of Farmers Branch

 
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In 2014, the Brewer Storefront, the firm’s community service affiliate, prevailed in an almost eight-year campaign to oppose the unconstitutional “immigration ordinances” adopted in the City of Farmers Branch, Texas. 

On March 3, 2014, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari of an appeal by the City. The decision marked the end of a successful campaign by the Brewer Storefront to challenge multiple versions of the city’s immigration ordinance – bringing to a close a case that captured national headlines.

TAKING A STAND

The Storefront had successfully opposed several versions of the ordinance since 2006. 

The City of Farmers Branch had appealed an en banc opinion issued on July 22, 2013, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that affirmed a trial court decision striking down the city’s third attempt at the immigration ordinance. 

The ordinance would have required renters in Farmers Branch to register their presence with the city and prove that they were legal residents in order to retain an occupancy license. The ordinance came under fire for being unconstitutional and discriminating against the Latino community. 

The courts repeatedly agreed with the Storefront’s central argument that the ordinances were preempted by federal law and unconstitutional because they attempted to regulate immigration, which can only be performed by the federal government. 

The City of Farmers Branch requested an en banc rehearing in April 2012, and arguments were heard before the full court in September 2012. 

The en banc decision came more than a year after a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit affirmed the same lower court ruling. In an opinion filed on March 21, 2012, Judge Thomas Reavley wrote, “We conclude that the ordinance’s sole purpose is not to regulate housing but to exclude undocumented aliens, specifically Latinos, from the City of Farmers Branch and that it is an impermissible regulation of immigration.” 

In March 2010, United States District Judge Jane Boyle ruled that Ordinance 2952 was unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction barring the enforcement of the ordinance. Ordinance 2903, the predecessor to Ordinance 2952, was previously ruled unconstitutional by United States District Court Judge Sam Lindsay.

LASTING IMPACT

The Farmers Branch decision has dissuaded other communities throughout the nation from considering similar unconstitutional – and discriminatory – measures. 

In addition to the federal court actions alleging the ordinance was unconstitutional, the Storefront pursued state court actions alleging that the city violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. The Storefront also helped lead a community awareness campaign about the ordinance. 

The Storefront also won a landmark victory against Farmers Branch in August 2012, when United States District Court Judge Sidney Fitzwater ruled that the city violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by using an at-large voting system to elect its City Council. 

The victory resulted in the creation of five single-member districts, including one district with a Latino majority. On May 12, 2013, Latina candidate Ana Reyes was elected to the Farmers Branch City Council by a decisive margin. 

In 2015, Texas Lawyer recognized the Brewer Storefront as a “Litigation Department of the Year” for its efforts in Farmers Branch.

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Firm Prevails in Lawsuit Against Transamerica in Life Insurance

 
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In 2018, a California federal court entered a final judgement in favor of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors client DCD Partners, LLC. The judgment arose out of a suit filed in 2015, which alleged that Transamerica Life Insurance Company (“Transamerica”) imposed unprecedented and exorbitant increases in premiums on thousands of life insurance policies in 2013. The judgment represented a defining chapter in a case that captured national headlines.

The lawsuit and legal strategy

DCD Partners sued Transamerica in 2015, alleging Transamerica improperly increased life insurance premiums by 50 percent in 2013 on more than 2,000 insureds – predominantly African-Americans from South Los Angeles, who were parishioners of the Praises of Zion Missionary Baptist Church, and other community churches. 

Issued in 2004, the policies were part of a charitable life insurance program that provided family members money for burial expenses and funds for the charitable activities of the non-profit Personal Involvement Center and other non-profit groups in that community. 

Following a trial, on September 13, 2017, a jury rendered a verdict for DCD Partners on its claims for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. 

On August 1, 2018, the Court denied Transamerica’s post-trial motions for new trial and for judgment as a matter of law. 

On December 13, 2018, the Honorable Christina A. Snyder of the United States District Court for the Central District of California entered the final judgment. 

In addition to the award for DCD Partners, the Court also enjoined Transamerica from continuing to charge excessive rates, based on an increase the jury determined breached the insurance policy. The injunction was the first entered against Transamerica in any rate increase litigation since Transamerica began raising its life insurance rates in the late 2000s.

“The jury verdict and final judgment send a clear message to Transamerica: insureds have contractual rights that cannot be ignored in Transamerica’s seemingly endless pursuit of profits. This case underscores the rights of insureds.”
— William A. Brewer III

Justice for all

This case attracted national attention because of the emerging focus on life insurance companies that improperly increase rates on policyholders in order to make up for diminishing investment returns and faulty underwriting practices. 

Rev. Benjamin Hardwick, founder and senior pastor at the Praises of Zion Missionary Baptist Church, established the program to ensure that families in his community would not be burdened with burial expenses when their family members passed away. 

In seeking an insurance company to help establish the program, Rev. Hardwick has stated he was concerned about “redlining,” the practice of charging policyholders in the same policy class higher rates than others in the class based on characteristics of their community or ethnic background, as his congregation consists mostly of African-Americans. 

An article in The Wall Street Journal, “Federal Jury Rules Against Transamerica in Battle Over Rates,” dated September 15, 2017, reported that the lawsuit “…was a closely watched case that challenged the leeway life insurers have when raising rates on old policies.” 

“This legal victory enables the life insurance program to continue to provide benefits for the community, the individual insureds, and the investors who have sustained the program,” Brewer said. “It also establishes precedent that will inform future decisions about the rights and responsibilities of parties involved in these types of arrangements.”

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Firm Helps Historic Manhattan Small Business – Jim’s Shoe Repair

 
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Every now and then, our advocacy positively impacts the future of a family, a business, and even a city. 

In one such case, attorneys and communications professionals from the Brewer Storefront, the firm’s community service affiliate, represented Jim’s Shoe Repair, a historic New York City business that was facing certain closure. 

Jim’s Shoe Repair has been described as the oldest and most famed cobbler in New York City. It has operated at its current Midtown Manhattan location since 1940 and has been in business since 1932. 

Despite the popularity of Jim’s and its standing as one of New York’s oldest family-owned businesses, in 2014 the business faced imminent closure. 

Jim’s was in danger of losing its 1,000-square-foot shop at 50 E. 59th Street, due to the expansion of a Duane Reade pharmacy located next door. Attorneys from the Storefront became involved, undertaking a legal and advocacy campaign to help secure the store’s future. 

Jim’s fight for survival became a closely-followed case in New York City – emblematic of the struggle faced by small businesses swept away in the corporatization of the city.

Legal and Public Affairs Campaign

The Storefront represented Jim’s in the courtroom, pro bono, and engineered a grassroots petition drive to help save the business. The Storefront attempted to seek a landmark designation for Jim’s. 

The Storefront then filed a petition in Manhattan Supreme Court on April 8, 2014, on behalf of the business, against the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The petition sought to overturn a decision by the Commission to deny Jim’s a landmark designation. 

At the same time, the firm’s public affairs team engineered a PR campaign that gave a voice to the historic business. The team arranged for desk-side briefings, pursued media coverage, and launched a petition drive that captured major attention. The team also secured an on-site visit and proclamation for Jim’s from New York Assemblyman Dan Quart. 

The campaign received coverage from several leading media outlets, including The New York Times, CNBC, New York Daily News, and the New York Post, to name just a few, as the community rallied to save one of the city’s most famed businesses.

The Storefront also defended Jim’s in eviction proceedings. And, after much negotiating, Jim’s and its landlord, SL Green Realty Corp., settled all claims as a condition of a new lease agreement in January 2015. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

A Historic Victory

Jim’s was founded in 1932 by Italian immigrant Vito Rocco; he named his shop “Jim’s” because he believed an American-sounding name would be good for business. At the time, prejudice against Italian immigrants was common. Now in its fourth generation, Jim’s still retains its “Old World” charm. 

The shop utilizes its original gold cash register and antique wooden compartments for customers waiting on shoe repairs. The founder’s youngest son, Joseph Rocco Sr., and his two brothers, Giulio and John, ran the business for years before Giulio and John passed away.

“Jim’s is a business that embodies the American Dream,. The victory is for all those who value family-owned businesses in this country.”
— William A. Brewer III (partner at the Storefront and long-time Jim’s customer)
 

Firm Secures Wins in Voting Rights Act Cases in North Texas Communities

 
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Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors is dedicated to upholding the promise of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 and has a long history of bringing successful lawsuits on behalf of Latino and African American voters across North Texas.

The Brewer Storefront, the firm’s community service affiliate, has successfully brought pro bono lawsuits against school districts and city council election systems that are in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The lawsuits are brought under Section 2 of the Act, which prohibits voting practices and procedures that discriminate against voters based on race, ethnicity, or language. 

The lawsuits challenge mostly at-large election systems and some unfairly drawn single-member districts. They charge that such systems denied voters of color a fair opportunity to meaningfully participate in the electoral process and elect school board representatives or city council members of their choosing. 

The lawsuits argued that the election systems allowed white voters to vote as a bloc and deny political opportunity to voters of color and their favored candidates.

The Scorecard – A Record of Positive Outcomes

Our advocacy often results in the creation of single-member districts that afford minority voters a fair opportunity in the election process, giving voters a stake in the political process. 

At trial, the Storefront has used demographics and voting experts to demonstrate that electoral districts could be drawn with a majority of Latino U.S. Citizens of Voting Age Population (CVAP). They proved the Latino and/or African American population in each community was significantly large and compact enough to constitute a majority in a district. 

Furthermore, attorneys and experts demonstrated in several cases that the existing flawed election systems consistently resulted in the defeat of candidates favored by voters of color by white (non-Hispanic) candidates. The lawsuits were resolved at trial or with settlements, usually resulting in the creation of single-member districts with a Latino majority CVAP. 

The lawsuits and subsequent redrawn election systems have resulted in greater diversity on the elected boards of many of the impacted communities. In the school district cases, the districts already served student bodies where students of color made up the majority of students enrolled. 

The Storefront secured trial victories in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in voting rights lawsuits brought against the Irving Independent School District in 2014, the City of Farmers Branch in 2012, and the City of Irving in 2009. 

Lawsuits also resulted in settlement agreements and adjusted election systems in the Richardson Independent School District in 2019, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District in 2015, the City of Grand Prairie in 2015, and the Grand Prairie Independent School District in 2014.

“These verdicts and outcomes represent a victory for voters of color who seek a voice in the political process. These communities are representatives of the changing demographics across the United States. We hope these cases are instructive to other municipalities and school districts that deny minority populations the opportunity for fair representation.”
— William A. Brewer III

 

After a majority-Latino single-member district was created in Farmers Branch following a trial victory, voters elected the first Hispanic to the City Council in city history, Ana Reyes. 

“Together, we can do great things and move forward,” Reyes told The Dallas Morning News after her historic win.

Key Representative Cases

The following are key voting rights cases all filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that resulted in progress:

  • Paige Dixon v. Lewisville Independent School District, et al. (Filed in 2022): Brewer Storefront filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on behalf of plaintiff Paige Dixon against the Lewisville Independent School District (LISD) and its trustees, alleging that the school district’s at large election system violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because it denies fair representation to voters of color. In August 2023, the Storefront announced a settlement with LISD resolving all claims and resulting in a new electoral system consisting of five single-member districts and two at-large seats. The new election system includes one single-member district comprised of a majority of eligible minority voters. Dixon, who is African American, is an active member of her community, a U.S. Army combat veteran, and a mother of two children who have attended LISD schools. She previously served as PTA President at Rockbrook Elementary School in Lewisville ISD from 2017 to 2021. She ran for Place 1 on the LISD school board in May 2021 and lost.  In 2020, a similar lawsuit against LISD brought by the Storefront was dismissed by a judge who found that the plaintiff, Frank Vaughan, who is white, lacked standing. That decision did not speak to the merits of the argument or whether LISD’s voting system complied with the Voting Rights Act.

  • David Tyson, Jr. v Richardson Independent School District, et al. (Filed in 2018): In January 2019, the Storefront settled Voting Rights Act and Texas Open Meetings Act lawsuits brought against the Richardson Independent School District filed on behalf of plaintiff and former Richardson ISD school board trustee David Tyson, Jr. The settlement results in greater political opportunity by replacing the district’s at-large election system with a new system consisting of five single-member districts and two at-large districts. The new election system also includes two single-member districts, each comprised of a majority of eligible minority voters. The Richardson ISD school board additionally agreed to complete training to help ensure its compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act at an open board meeting in 2019. In November 2019, voters elected Regina Harris as District 4 trustee. Harris is the first African American woman to serve on the RISD board. In May 2020, Debbie Rentería was sworn in as District 3 trustee, becoming the first Hispanic to ever serve on the RISD board.  

  • Ramos v. Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, et al. (Filed in 2015): The Storefront filed suit against the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District challenging the at-large election system. Plaintiff Guillermo Ramos is a graduate of the district’s Newman Smith High School, and grew up attending district schools. At the time, the school district enrollment was about 55 percent Latino, but there were no Latinos on the seven-member board. The lawsuit claimed that since at least 1995, bloc-voting by whites resulted in the defeat of every Latino candidate. 

    In September 2015, the Storefront announced that a settlement had been reached. The settlement included replacing the at-large election system with a cumulative voting system. In a cumulative system, voters receive as many votes as there are seats in an election, and may distribute those votes as they wish. As a part of the settlement, one member resigned and Ramos joined the board. In May 2016, Ramos was elected to the board under the new cumulative system. Candace Valenzuela, who is Mexican American and African American, was also elected to the board in May 2017.

  • Rodriguez v. The City of Grand Prairie, et al. (Filed in 2015): The lawsuit filed on behalf of plaintiff Victor Rodriguez argued that the Grand Prairie City Council election system of six single-member districts and two at-large districts violated the Voting Rights Act. At the time, the eight City Council members and mayor were all white, although the population was almost 43 percent Latino as of the 2010 Census. The lawsuit claimed that since 1990, bloc-voting by white voters resulted in the defeat of every Latino candidate. In July 2015, the City Council agreed to settle the lawsuit and redraw district boundaries with greater opportunity for Latino voters in Districts 3 and 5. The District 3 seat has since been held by a Latino representative, Mike Del Bosque.

  • Rodriguez v. Grand Prairie Independent School District, et al. (Filed in 2013): The Storefront filed suit against Grand Prairie ISD on behalf of resident Victor Rodriguez. Since 1999, only one Hispanic candidate had been elected to the board by defeating a white candidate. In that time period, bloc-voting by white voters resulted in the defeat of at least four other Hispanic candidates. The parties reached a settlement in September 2014, establishing a new election system with five single-member districts and two at-large districts. The new election system included two single-member districts wherein a majority of eligible voters are Latino U.S. citizens. In May 2015, Hispanic candidate David Espinosa defeated an incumbent and was elected to District 5, one of the newly established Hispanic opportunity districts.

  • Manuel A. Benavidez v. Irving Independent School District, et al. (Filed in 2013): Plaintiff Manuel Benavidez, a Mexican-American who had unsuccessfully run for the Irving Independent School District board, challenged the district’s 5-2 election system. The district used an election system with five single-member districts and two at-large seats. Following a three-day bench trial in July 2014, U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater ruled that the Irving Independent School District’s system of electing school board trustees violated the Voting Rights Act and denied fair representation to Latino voters. The 5-2 system was created after Benavidez sued the district in a prior voting rights lawsuit brought by the Storefront in 2008. Judge Fitzwater ruled that despite the school district’s contention, District 6 was not a sufficiently drawn single-member district containing a majority of eligible Hispanic voters, and therefore was not a true “opportunity” district. The Storefront successfully argued that the district used misleading data to craft the district and counted Hispanics who were not U.S. citizens and were therefore ineligible to vote. Following the decision, the Irving ISD voted to convert to an election system with seven single-member districts, including a Hispanic “opportunity” district comprised of a majority of Hispanic eligible voters.