Lubbock Councilwoman Martinez-Garcia calls for diverse representation on city boards

Lubbock Mayor Pro Tem Christy Martinez-Garcia during a city council meeting Tuesday expressed concerns the city's boards and commissions have "a lot of deficiencies" in representing Lubbock's entire population, citing an imbalance in demographic and geographical diversity among the members appointed to the various boards.

The councilwoman's comments came during a routine discussion on appointments to the Lubbock Planning and Zoning Commission, when the council was considering the reappointment of Brandon Hardaway and the appointment of Tarek Redwan, Robert Wood and Drew Gray. These appointments were ultimately accepted.

To qualify to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission, appointees must simply reside in the city limits. Members are appointed at large.

"I have some concerns with the recommendations, and some of those include the fact that we have some deficiencies in several areas of our boards and commissions," said Martinez-Garcia, who represents council District 1 in north Lubbock. "We do not have boards and advisories that reflect all of our districts."

Martinez-Garcia said two of the three suggested new appointees reside in District 4, which makes for three total members of the Planning and Zoning Commission from that district. No one from District 1 is on the board, she said.

"We do need to make sure that our boards, especially Planning and Zoning, have a neighborhood perspective and reflect the needs of all of the city, and not certain segments," Martinez-Garcia said. "Our neighborhoods are the neighborhoods that often get targeted and don't have enough folks that are speaking on their behalf."

Martinez-Garcia attempted to amend the list of appointments, replacing one of the District 4 nominees with someone from District 1. The motion to amend failed, though it did gain support from Mayor Mark McBrayer.

"I think it's very important that we make sure that our districts in Lubbock are represented so those voices are heard with regard to issues that come up, so that people who live in those districts can respond and can give input on those," McBrayer said. "I want expertise on it, but also want people that represent neighborhoods, and I want those voices from those neighborhoods to be heard."

Martinez-Garcia also said the city's various boards and commissions do not reflect Lubbock's population demographically.

"Overall, we have a male population of folks that are serving at a rate of 63.5%, and only 36.5% of the people that are have been appointed are women," Martinez-Garcia said.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock Councilwoman Martinez-Garcia calls for diverse representation on city boards