Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION CHARLES R. RICHEY, District Judge. This is an action for declaratory relief brought under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965,42 U.S.C. § 1973c (Supp. 1974-1980). Unless a state or political subdivision receives the approval of the Attorney General of the United States for a change in its voting standards, practices or procedures, section 5 requires that the entity must demonstrate to a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that the change it seeks to enforce has neither the purpose nor effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. Plaintiff City of Port Arthur, Texas, has filed this suit in order to obtain a declaration upholding the validity of several voting changes occasioned by the expansion of the boundaries of the City, by the City’s adoption of two new electoral plans for the enlarged community, and by the establishment of elected advisory councils for two of the added areas. With the consent of the parties, evidence consisting of numerous depositions, exhibits, and the in-court testimony of several witnesses was initially presented to a single judge. Complete copies of the record were then distributed to the two other judges. Ultimately, the full three-judge court heard oral argument on all aspects of the case. Upon consideration of the entire record herein, we conclude that plaintiff’s request for a declaratory judgment must be denied. Although we are convinced that the territorial expansion was accomplished without a discriminatory purpose, the subsequently adopted election plans were fatally infected by such an intent. Moreover, the implementation of any of the voting schemes presented would most probably have the effect of abridging the electoral rights of Port Arthur’s minority communities. With respect to the advisory councils, we find the absence of a discriminatory purpose and the presence of a discriminatory effect. The opinion which follows sets forth our findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. I. FACTUAL FINDINGS A. General Background Plaintiff City of Port Arthur (“Port Arthur” or “the City”) is a municipality located on the southeastern boundary of the State of Texas. It lies approximately 90 miles east of Houston in the southern portion of Jefferson County on the salt-grass marshland adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico. Sabine Lake and the Sabine-Neches waterway border the City on the south while the municipalities of Nederland, Groves, and Port Neches pose a barrier to the north and east. West of Port Arthur is a wildlife management area and several large petroleum company complexes. Due to the location of the City and the resources at hand, the population is primarily engaged in oil refining, petro-chemical manufacturing, sea-faring, and related occupations. Within the general area occupied by Port Arthur are four communities which are of central concern in this litigation. The Town of Lakeview (“Lakeview”), the City of Griffing Park (“Griffing Park”), and the City of Pear Ridge (“Pear Ridge”) are all incorporated entities covering less than one square mile each. Lakeview overlooks Lake Sabine and is surrounded on all sides by Port Arthur. Situated one mile to the north is Griffing Park which edges Groves on the east and Pear Ridge on the northwest but is otherwise enveloped by the plaintiff City. Aside from its shared border with Griffing Park, Pear Ridge is totally enclosed by Port Arthur. Finally, there is a fourth unincorporated area known as Sabine Pass which is situated eight miles to the south of the City. According to the figures published by the United States Bureau of Census, the total population of the City of Port Arthur has been decreasing from 66,676 in 1960 through 57,371 in 1970 to 54,485 in 1980. Simultaneously, the percentage of the municipal population comprised by blacks has increased significantly; the black proportion of the population was 30.79% in 1960, 40.01% in 1970, and 45.21% in 1980. In addition, several other minorities have always contributed a small fraction of the population. Between 6 and 7% of all Port Arthurians, for example are of Spanish origin. Although current statistics as to the number of individuals of voting age in each of these groups are unavailable, the 1970 Census revealed that the total voting-age population (“VAP”) was 37,636 of whom 13,033 or 34.62% were black. By contrast, the four communities mentioned above have far fewer and predominantly white residents. The total population of Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Sabine Pass, for example, was 8,407 in 1970 and only 6,509 in 1980. In those same areas, blacks numbered 103 or 1.23% and Mexican-Americans, 720 or 8.56% in 1970; by 1980, there were 111 or 1.71% black and 723 or 11.11% Hispanic citizens. Individuals of voting age totalled only 5,575 of whom 63 or 1.13% were black in 1970. B. Historical Background of . Port Arthur I. Political history to 1963 The City of Port Arthur was founded in 1898, and it has operated under its own Charter since March 8, 1932, in accordance with the so-called “home-rule amendment” of the Texas Constitution. City officials were elected by at-large vote until 1954. Then, between 1954 and 1963, Port Arthur adopted the commission-manager form of government and the single-member district or ward system. Each of the seven commissioners was required to be a resident of the district which he or she represented, and each was elected by only the qualified voters in the district. The commissioners served two year terms with four of the commissioners elected at one time and the remaining three elected the following year. It was necessary that candidates receive a majority of the vote in order to get elected. Following each election, one of the seven commissioners was selected.by the commission to serve as mayor. Throughout the period when this single-member district plan was in effect, the districts were essentially drawn on a north-south axis parallel to the named avenues of the City. The black population was heavily concentrated in District 1, the area west of Houston Avenue, and the commission regularly included a single black member elected from that district between 1954 and 1963. Beginning with the construction of the first urban renewal project in 1957, a significant number of blacks began to move eastward across Houston Avenue into the traditional white residential areas which constituted the other election districts. By 1960, it appeared that District 2 was going to become as predominantly black as District l. In 1963, however, the results of a Charter change referendum compelled the City to alter the form of government. From that time on, Port Arthur has been governed by a seven-member council and a professional manager who operates the City and carries out the policies of the City Council. According to the so-called 6-0-1 plan, six of the council members are each required to live in newly-drawn residency districts including the old District 1, three new districts drawn along an east-west axis, and two additional districts covering the large area to the north. In order to win a seat, however, a candidate has to be elected by a majority of all of the qualified voters in the City. The seventh position, the mayoral place is similarly filled by an at-large contest, but the mayor is not required to reside in any particular district. Although the mayor bears certain ceremonial and “political” responsibilities not shared by the other members of the Council, he casts a vote on each matter under consideration just as his fellow officials do. Each year, three council members are elected, and the three others along with the mayor are voted on the following year. This Charter amendment was overwhelmingly approved by the citizens of Port Arthur who cast 6,829 votes in its favor and lodged only 1,022 votes against it; blacks and whites alike supported the measure. In an effort to explain the motivation for this change, plaintiff demonstrated that Port Arthur had been plagued by widespread corruption while the single-member district plan was extant. Whether or not the ward system actually spawned the illegal activities, the citizens of Port Arthur believed that there was such a connection. No justification was offered, however, for the redrawing of district boundaries along east-west lines. The record bears witness to the fact that this redistricting had the effect of maintaining the concentration of blacks in District 1 while simultaneously fragmenting the growing black population east of Houston Avenue in Districts 2, 3, and 4 by combining it with the larger white population on the east side of the City. Consequently, a minority candidate from the western portion of District 2, 3, or 4 would face a white opponent from the east. 2. 1963 to 1977 Under the at-large system, Port Arthur received national recognition when nominated as an All American City in 1970 and when given the award of the National Municipal League in 1973. Nevertheless, racial tension festered beneath the surface. As blacks moved east across Houston Avenue, whites moved further east and even out of the City into the surrounding townships. Between 1960 and 1970, the non-black population in Port Arthur diminished from 46,145 to 34,377. There is some suggestion in the record that the outmigration was motivated by the decreased hiring of the local oil refineries and the high cost of living in Port Arthur, but these factors would have impacted on blacks as much as whites and there is no evidence that blacks were leaving the City. On the other hand, there was overwhelming testimony that the white exodus was prompted by racial considerations. A 1969 study commissioned by the municipal government revealed that the most frequent negative comment of Port Arthurians with respect to their home was “too many minority group members.” Mayor Bernis Sadler and the City’s demographic expert, Lyle M. Vickers, both attributed the outward movement to the court-ordered desegregation of the schools in 1970. In 1973, the Port Arthur City Council received another study from a Chicago-based consulting group, the Public Administration Service (“PAS”), which also concluded that race was a reason for the outmigration of whites. Thus, since 1960, Port Arthur appears to have suffered a classic case of “white flight.” On December 29, 1974, the situation was exacerbated when a black youth named Clifford Coleman was shot to death by a white Port Arthur policeman while escaping from police custody. Plaintiff asserts that Coleman was escaping from “jail” as opposed to “police custody.” Semantics aside, it is undisputed that the black youth was being booked for using abusive language when he broke away from the police officer who shot him as he ran. The level of racial tension in the City increased significantly following the incident, and, for the first time, there was a community-wide reaction to what was perceived as a racially discriminatory act. The black population of Port Arthur conducted rallies, held marches and attended community-wide meetings. Several businesses were burned, and at least one family armed itself in preparation for a conflict. More peaceful protests included the resignation of all the black members of the Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce and the refusal of a local black football star, Joe Washington, to accept an award from the Chamber. • Although the tension level subsided somewhat in the years following the Coleman shooting, the effects of the incident continued to be felt in Port Arthur. The municipal elections of April 2, 1977, for example, evidenced the unremitting racial hostility. Four council seats including that of the mayor were in contention, and in each race a white candidate confronted a black. As part of their campaign effort against the slate of black candidates, members of the Port Arthur City Council placed a series of three full-page advertisements in the Port Arthur News on the three days preceding the election. The ads warned about the efforts of the Rev. William Land “to rally the local black community to gain control of the city government.” Specifically named as associates of Rev. Land were two black candidates; A. Z. McElroy was said to have brought him to Port Arthur and Paul Strawder was allegedly president of his congregation. Plaintiff City of Port Arthur subsequently characterized these ads as admonitions of an “outside takeover,” but the language of the ads undeniably referred to a takeover by the local black community. Furthermore, each of the black councilmanic candidates in the 1977 election was a long-time resident of Port Arthur. Only Rev. Land was an “outsider,” but he was not running for office. In the ensuing election, the black slate narrowly lost every race. By all accounts, the election results reflected severely polarized racial bloc voting; the phenomenon which occurs when white citizens vote for white candidates and black citizens cast their ballots for blacks. 3. Consolidation with Pear Ridge and Lakeview Almost immediately after the council-manic elections of April 2, 1977, there was considerable discussion of the idea of consolidating Port Arthur with the surrounding white communities. The economic and administrative need for such action had been recognized at least since the 1940’s. Between 1940 and 1950, the City annexed two areas in order to increase the municipal population, and the people of Port Arthur supported an unsuccessful effort to annex the area now known as the City of Groves. In the next decade, Port Arthur annexed several areas including Port Acres, El Vista, Fairlea, Highland Heights and Foster Estates. The City again voted to consolidate with Groves in 1959, but that effort and a 1956-57 campaign to join Port Arthur with Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park failed. Among the factors motivating these efforts in the 1950’s were the City’s desires to increase its population for the 1960 Census, to facilitate construction of a seawall for the entire area, to improve streets and police and fire protection, and to attract business. Although the City continued its search for ways to increase its population, there was no expansion of the municipal boundaries between 1960 and 1970. In 1973, the Port Arthur City Council received the above-mentioned PAS report. Entitled “Intergovernmental Relations in the Greater Port Arthur Area,” the study recommended that “the City of Port Arthur, and the surrounding municipalities should be consolidated to create a single governmental unit.” In order to accomplish such a reorganization, PAS counseled that “an intensive and deliberate effort to develop a broad consensus on the best available alternative to the status quo” was required. After this “painstaking research and proposal development,” it would be necessary to enlist popular support by “a variety of promotional methods, suited to the diverse composition of the electorate.” By 1975, members of the Port Arthur City Council began receiving inquiries about consolidation from private individuals residing in neighboring communities. Specifically, City Manager Dibrell was approached by Ernest Askew, a resident of Pear Ridge, several times beginning in 1975 and continuing through April, 1977. According to Mr. Askew, the rising sewer and water rates in Pear Ridge and the increasing taxes sparked interest in consolidation with Port Arthur around 1975 or 1976. Ron Gates also relayed the sentiment in Pear Ridge to Mr. Dibrell and Mayor Sadler in April, 1977, if not earlier. An inhabitant of Griffing Park, Brenda Drago, apparently contacted the City Manager and the Mayor sometime after 1975. Finally, there was testimony that a movement in favor of consolidation began in Lakeview after 1975. At that time, Cecil Hamilton and Lewis Foster talked with Mayor Sadler. Despite the unqualified recommendation of PAS and the urgings of residents from the surrounding townships, no action was taken by the Port Arthur municipal government. The PAS consulting group was not contacted again until the time of trial, nor was any other study of consolidation commissioned before May, 1977. The subject of consolidation was not even mentioned in the official minutes of the Port Arthur City Council from March 8, 1976, to April 4, 1977. Once the results of the April 2, 1977, municipal elections were known, however, the Port Arthur City Council pursued the issue of consolidation vigorously. On April 11, 1977, at the very next regular meeting of the Council, the former mayor of Port Arthur, R. B. McCollum, informed the members that “it is essential to unite and consolidate now more than ever before.” Later in the month, Port Arthur Mayor Sadler and City Manager Dibrell took an unprecedented action by arranging three separate meetings with members of the all-white Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park city councils at the Holiday Motel Restaurant in order to discuss citizen interest in consolidation and to explain the benefits which would accrue. Whether or not the racial composition of Port Arthur and the political situation there were mentioned at those dinner meetings is the subject of considerable debate. Most of those who attended the meetings do not recall a discussion of the April 2, 1977, Port Arthur elections nor of race in general, however, several individuals remember references to the changing racial make-up of the City and the need to “stabilize” the population. According to James Shaw, a member of the Griffing Park Council, Messrs. Sadler and Dibrell even declared that there was a possibility that blacks would take over the Port Arthur City Council, but Mr. Dibrell later explained that such a statement, if any, related only to Rev. Land. Recognizing that memory lapses with the passage of time and that many of these Town officials are “interested witnesses” with good reason to conceal the truth, we conclude that there was some mention made of the racial situation in Port Arthur. Yet, we are not prepared to stand by the testimony of Mr. Shaw when no other witness corroborates it. In all probability, the Mayor and the City Manager merely made subtle reference to the racial composition of Port Arthur, but that was undoubtedly sufficient to remind the long-time residents of southern Jefferson County of the racial advantages of consolidation. Thus, race was included among the several factors cited at the dinner meetings in favor of a merger with the surrounding municipalities. During the weeks which followed, Port Arthur officials participated in an active effort to provide information regarding consolidation to the surrounding municipalities because Texas law required the smaller city to first petition and vote for consolidation. On May 9, 1977, the City Council authorized Mr. Dibrell to investigate the cities involved and to prepare a detailed statistical report on the cost of municipal services, local ad valorem taxes, home insurance costs, the positions and salaries of municipal employees, and other subjects. The resulting “packet of information pertaining to the proposed consolidation” was then distributed in the neighboring communities. It included a draft petition to be circulated in the affected township in order to initiate consolidation and a draft ordinance which would provide for the establishment of an advisory council from each of the three cities to the Port Arthur City Council. Throughout the summer months, Port Arthur City officials attended a series of public meetings in Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park to provide explanations and additional information. Plaintiff City of Port Arthur offered the surrounding municipalities a series of inducements to consolidate. One of the principal attractions held out to the adjacent communities was Port Arthur’s recently decreased tax rate. Prior to 1977, the municipal property tax on homeowners was significantly higher than that of its neighbors because the City Charter precluded the annexation of adjoining industrial properties. Port Arthurians amended the Charter in 1975, however, so as to permit the necessary annexations. By 1977, after the City had negotiated very favorable contracts involving substantially increased payments in lieu of taxes from the industrial property owners, the tax rate was greatly lowered. Therefore, it became possible for Port Arthur to promise the surrounding townships a reduction in their property taxes and a five-year freeze on the 1976 property assessments in use at the time. Consolidation also provided a vehicle for the neighboring areas to resolve various problems relating to water and sewage services. For many years, each township had contracted with Port Arthur for these services, but legal disputes had developed over the prices charged. In addition, state and federal regulations implemented in 1976 required vast revisions to the water and sewer facilities in each city. Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park did not have the financial resources to make the necessary capital improvements. Although Port Arthur had the funds with which to comply with the new regulations, it was unwilling to renew the disputed and disadvantageous service contracts. If the municipalities consolidated, however, Port Arthur would furnish the capital for the required improvements and would absorb by operation of Texas law the legal liabilities owed to it. Other municipal services were offered to the three townships as part of the consolidation package. The deteriorating firefighting units in the outlying communities were to be joined with Port Arthur’s full-time professional fire department; the fragmented police protection was to be unified into a single, enlarged police force; and the public library was to be made available to everyone at no charge. Little increase in cost was anticipated because of the location of existing fire stations and the size of the current police and firefighting forces. Without consolidation and an increased tax base, however, the City announced that it was not economically feasible to continue providing the above services. Finally, Port Arthur City officials pledged that they would establish advisory councils to the City Council from Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park. For a five-year transition period commencing on the effective date of the consolidation, the elected members of these councils would have direct access to and influence on the decision-making process of the municipal government. Although individuals and groups from other areas of the City were free to contact members of the City Council, no official advisory councils were created to represent those areas. The benefits of consolidation did not inure solely to the neighboring communities. Port Arthur, for example, was extremely interested in maintaining a population in excess of 50,000 so as to remain entitled as a matter of right to funds from federal agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). Were the population to decrease below the 50,000 level, HUD would diminish the amount of the direct grant by one-third each year; in the fourth year, the City would have to complete with other applicants for discretionary awards. Since 1975, the City had automatically received almost $10,000,000 in federal grants, but there was evidence that the municipal population was approaching the 50,000 mark. Between 1960 and 1970, the number of Port Arthurians had declined from 66,676 to 57,371. Before the dinner meetings at the Holiday Motel, City officials were in receipt of an estimate from the Office of Revenue Sharing indicating that there were only 53,557 residents in 1976 and population data published by the R.L. Polk Co. for the years 1972-75. In order to ensure federal funding for the foreseeable future, Port Arthur sought to consolidate with the surrounding municipalities. Having already annexed all of the adjacent black communities, the City turned to Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park. An increase in population also had other advantages for Port Arthur. Although the City would be required to provide services to the new residents, it was anticipated that the additional cost would be minimal and greatly outweighed by the increased tax revenue. The City Manager suggested that the economies were so apparent that it was unnecessary to prepare a detailed cost-benefit analysis. Furthermore, Port Arthur hoped that the increased visibility resulting from consolidation would attract new businesses and thereby create new jobs. In June, 1977, separate petitions calling for an election on the issue of consolidation with Port Arthur were circulated and signed by citizens of Pear Ridge, Lakeview and Griffing Park. At the referenda elections held on August 13,1977, a majority of the citizens in Pear Ridge and Lakeview voted for consolidation, but the residents of Griffing Park voted against it. City officials of Port Arthur including Mayor Sadler then began campaigning for consolidation within the City. By a vote of 6,449 to 1,223, Port Arthurians approved consolidation with Pear Ridge in a referendum election held on November 8, 1977. At the same time, 6,353 residents of the City voted for consolidation with Lakeview, and 1,181 voted against it. Although the white community almost unanimously supported the merger, black voters were divided on the issue; the election results did not evidence severe racial polarization. Certified copies of the results of the consolidation referenda held in Port Arthur, Pear Ridge and Lakeview were filed with the Texas Secretary of State on December 1, 1977, and the consolidation was officially consummated. Henceforth, the City of Port Arthur was responsible for governing a population which was, according to 1980 census statistics, increased by 6,008 people including 80 blacks to a total of 60,493 of whom 24,710 or 40.85% were black and 3,825 or 6.32% were Hispanic. The areas formerly known as Pear Ridge and Lakeview contributed over 16% of the whites in the enlarged community and less than 1% of the blacks. 4. The 7-0-1 plan On November 28, 1977, the Port Arthur City Council fulfilled its promise to the Pear Ridge and Lakeview electorate by adopting Ordinances 77-118 and 77-119 which established Pear Ridge and Lakeview Advisory Councils. The City Council also assembled an Advisory Committee for Council Election System for the purpose of proposing changes in the manner of electing council members in view of the expansion of the City. Thirteen local civic groups were selected to appoint two members each to the Election System Advisory Committee. Of the 26 people designated to serve on the Committee, only 7 were black and 2 were Hispanic. The record suggests that the Advisory Committee for Council Election System was racially divided. According to the statement in the Committee minutes by Rev. Ransom Howard and the testimony of other black committee members, the white members generally favored an at-large system while the blacks supported a single-member district plan. Eventually, the majority of the Committee recommended to the City Council that the at-large election system be continued and that a seventh councilmanic position be added to the existing six-member council (“7-0-1” plan). A minority report proposing the adoption of a single-member district plan was submitted to the Council by five of the seven black representatives on the Committee. Plaintiff argues that the City Charter only permitted the Council to increase the number of seats from six to eight without changing the election system itself. Furthermore, the City claims that the addition of a seventh position was a valid effort to “increase minority representation.” These explanations, however, ignore the possibility of amending the Charter by means of a referendum election, and they do not justify the failure to read the minority report at the two public hearings held by the City Council on December 28, 1977, to discuss the Committee’s recommendation. Without attempting to answer these two questions, the Port Arthur City Council accepted the 7-0-1 plan recommended by the Council Election System Advisory Committee and enacted Ordinance 78-11 on January 16, 1978. Subsequently, Ordinance 78-15 was adopted in order to make technical adjustments to certain residency district lines. 5. Annexation of Sabine Pass Approximately six months after consolidation with Pear Ridge and Lakeview, the City of Port Arthur began to annex the area known as Sabine Pass, a separate unincorporated community located eight miles from the closest point in Port Arthur. In view of the problems encountered with the municipalities east of Port Arthur and the movement developing in Sabine Pass to incorporate, the Port Arthur City Council decided to annex the latter community. The City had apparently planned to annex Sabine Pass about five years in the future for various economic and administrative reasons. Among the advantages cited by Port Arthur were obtaining a deep water port, sharing a common water supply, controlling offshore drilling activity, acquiring an area for industrial growth, and preventing fragmentation of jurisdiction. By virtue of Ordinances 78 — 43, 78 — 47, 79-33, 79-34, and 79-67, Port Arthur’s population increased by 501 including 31 blacks and 18 Hispanics according to the 1980 Census. The City’s total population advanced to 60,994 of whom 24,741 or 40.56% were black and 3,843 or 6.30% were of Spanish origin. Thus, since 1977, Port Arthur has enveloped within its borders 5,675 additional whites and 111 additional blacks who comprise 17.51% and 0.45% of the total number of individuals of their respective races in the enlarged City. 6. The 8-0-1 plan Not having held councilmanic elections since April 2, 1977, the City made another effort to develop an acceptable election system at the beginning of 1980. Exhausting its Charter authority, Port Arthur City Council enlarged itself so as to include nine members (“8-0-1” plan). Eight members were required to reside in different districts, and each had to obtain a majority of the votes cast by all of the qualified voters in the “new” City. Their two-year terms were staggered so that four council members were chosen one year, and the four others were selected the next year. The mayor continued to be elected at large every other year. The task of dividing the City into eight districts of nearly equal population was assigned to Lyle Vickers. His purpose and that of the City Council was to draw districts “to the maximum extent possible to elect at least two black candidates to the Council, and with a third candidate being elected as the population continues to shift east ... by 1984 or 1985.” Using 1970 Census VAP data and considering the “electability of [particular] people, either current Councilmen or people off the Council,” Vickers proposed the following districts: District Total Population Voting Age Population Total Black % Black Total Black % Black 1 8,289 3,694 44.58% 5,382 2,094 38.91% 2 8,216 10 00.12% 5,879 6 00.10% 3 7,474 844 11.29% 5,223 478 09.15% 4 7,983 1,045 13.09% 5,558 592 10.65% 5 9,065 8,735 96.35% 5,186 4,951 95.46% 6 8,317 5 00.06% 5,952 3 00.05% 7 9,761 8,305 85.05% 5,751 4,707 81.84% 8 7,023 563 08.02% 4,942 319 06.45% This plan was adopted on January 21, 1980, when the City Council enacted Ordinance 80-02. 7. The 4-4-1 plan In the early months of 1980, Port Arthu-rians were unable to agree upon a mutually acceptable election plan for the City Council. The Port Arthur firefighters’ union presented an alternative election system in April in an effort to resolve the impasse so that a referendum on a collective bargaining agreement could be held. Intending to “provide for the election of minorities in numbers approximately equal to their number in the population,” the firemen proposed a plan in which six members of a nine-member city council would be elected from single-member districts and the other two members would be elected by at-large vote with the mayor (“2-6-1” plan). To implement this plan, it was necessary to amend the City Charter by means of a referendum election called upon petition of 5% of the number of voters at the last general election. The firefighters therefore launched a petition drive to place the 2-6-1 plan on a special ballot. The members of the City Council and certain white citizens, however, were adamant in their insistence upon the election of all council members by at-large vote. Mayor Sadler, for example, accused the firefighters of “trying to take over the City” and voiced strong opposition to the concept of the 2-6-1 plan. On the other hand, certain black citizens including intervenor-defendants continued to advocate the adoption of a pure single-member district election system. Consequently, when the Community Relations Service of the United States Department of Justice (“CRS”) offered to mediate the settlement of these differences, the interested parties quickly accepted. The City chose a team composed only of whites to represent it, and there is some evidence to suggest that members of the City’s team perceived their role as representing the white citizens of Port Arthur. A second team was established to represent the black community. Although the firefighters were originally invited to participate, they were later excluded because the City refused to negotiate with people who worked for the City; Mayor Sadler asserted that this would be in “the best interest of my general public” and that the firemen were needed to fight fires. Between April 28 and June 18, 1980, the City’s team and the black team met several times. Initially, the white team supported the election of all council members by at-large vote, and the black team favored a single-member district system. No agreement was reached, however, on these plans or several other alternatives. At approximately the same time that the firefighters were presenting to the City Council their petition requesting a referendum election on the 2-6-1 plan, the mediation team representing the black community made a final suggestion that the 2-6-1 plan be adopted. Because that plan involved too few at-large seats, the white team rejected it. The City’s team countered with a proposal described as “the bottom line.” It provided for a nine-member council including a mayor who continued to be elected at-large. Four council members would be elected from single-member districts. These same districts would also serve, as residency districts for the four remaining members who would be elected on an at-large basis (“4-4-1 plan”). In formulating this plan, Lyle Vickers allegedly sought to minimize population deviations among districts and to develop compact districts. The information available at the time indicated that the population of each district was as follows; District Total Population Total Black % Black 1 15,020 12,651 84.23% 2 15,181 1,895 12.48% 3 14,982 1,027 06.85% 4 16,185 9,711 63.95% More recently, the 1980 Census disclosed that the four proposed districts contain the following number of inhabitants: District Total Population Total Black % Black 1 14,649 11,846 80.86% 2 15,855 3,141 19.81% 3 16,033 919 05.73% 4 14,457 8,835 61.11% When the black mediation team decided that the 4 — 4-1 plan did not provide the minority community representation proportionate to its electoral strength, it rejected the City’s final proposal and the negotiations broke down. That night, six of the nine members of the City’s mediation team formed a committee known as the Citizens’ Committee for a Fair Electoral System to plan a petition drive for the purpose of presenting the voters with the 4-4-1 plan as an alternative to the 2-6-1 plan in the special referendum election. Although City Attorney George Wikoff, City Manager George Dibrell and Lyle Vickers were not involved in the Citizens’ Committee, the municipal government offered its resources to the proponents of the 4 — 4-1 plan. The original of the Committee’s petition to put the 4-4-1 plan on the ballot was typed in the City Attorney’s Office, the instructions for the person circulating the petitions were typed in the Mayor’s office, and the script for the radio ad promoting the 4-4-1 plan was written by the Port Arthur Director of Public Information. Throughout the campaign, the Citizens’ Committee emphasized that adoption of the 4 — 4-1 plan would “keep our city government in the hands of all people.” This theme was continually repeated, for example, in a brochure distributed by the Committee which juxtaposed the virtually all-white members of the Committee and City Council who supported the 4 — 4-1 plan and “a certain group of the Port Arthur firemen” who favored the 2-6-1 plan along with Walter Mosely and Rev. C. O. Hall, two prominent black leaders. In order to justify the abandonment of the pure at-large system, the author of the brochure first claimed that the 4-4-1 plan was an effort “to meet minority political interests (black and Hispanic) with the general interests of the citizenry in a sound and balanced government” and then reminded the reader that he/she would be entitled to vote for six of the nine council seats. In the referendum election on the two proposed electoral systems held on August 9, 1980, the 4 — 4-1 plan was approved by a majority of the voters while the 2-6-1 plan was opposed by a majority of the voters in a separate contest. Whites and blacks generally opposed each other at the polls; almost three-quarters of the white voters favored the 4 — 4-1 plan, and nearly all black Port Arthurians voted against it. C. History of Blacks in Port Arthur The City of Port Arthur has a long history of discrimination against its black citizens. Until the mid-1960’s, black citizens were subject to official discrimination under the so-called Jim Crow laws. Segregation persisted in the City’s schools until 1970, and the issue of desegregation is still the source of considerable racial tension. The black community has also suffered from residential segregation and the accompanying problems. As mentioned above, Port Arthur’s blacks were essentially confined to the area west of Houston Avenue until 1957. Although blacks were then pushed across that boundary by urban renewal developments, the black community remains concentrated in the western portion of the City. In addition, it is undisputed that the areas of Port Arthur which are heavily populated by blacks are most in need of municipal improvements. The disparate treatment of black and white citizens is perhaps underscored by the relocation of the municipal library from the downtown area where it was easily accessible to most minority members closer to the predominantly white New Town/In Town development; the new civic center was also built in the same area. The City has similarly performed poorly with respect to minority employment. Although blacks constituted 33.5% of the municipal work force in 1973, almost nine-tenths of these black employees were skilled craftsmen and service maintenance workers. Very few blacks held middle and upper level jobs. In fact, at that time, no black employee earned over $10,000 per year while 36 whites received salaries in excess of that amount. The situation has improved only slightly since 1973. In 1980, blacks comprised 39.9% of the workforce, but 81% of those workers still held crafts and maintenance positions. Salaries of $16,000 per year or more were received by 257 non-blacks, but only 24 blacks were as highly paid. It is also significant that there has been a disproportionately low number of black appointees to Port Arthur’s boards and commissions. In 1977, blacks filled only 31.3% of the available posts despite the fact that the City was nearly 45% black. Two years later, only 24.5% of the appointments were held by blacks. Furthermore, as the intervenor-defendants observed, “a significant number of the politically active black citizens that have appeared throughout this case do not appear on the list, while a few have been tapped for double and triple duty.” Black Port Arthurians have fared even less well with respect to elected positions. Although blacks have been voting in municipal elections at least since 1931, have regularly turned out to vote, and have offered numerous candidates for office; few blacks have actually been elected. Under the at-large system which existed prior to 1954, no blacks were ever elected to the seven-member commission even though they constituted 24.24% of the total population and 23.1% of the VAP in 1950. Despite the institution of the single-member district plan and the increasing size of the black community, only five black men were elected to the City Council between 1954 and 1963. Furthermore, there was never more than one black, the representative from District 1, on the six-member council at any given time. Since 1963 when the 6-0-1 plan was implemented, no black candidate has ever won a councilmanic seat in Port Arthur when confronted by a white. The poor performance of black candidates with white opponents is largely attributable to racially polarized voting. Plaintiff does not dispute the fact that most of the elections following the December, 1974, Coleman incident have been characterized by severe racial polarization, but the Court finds that this situation has existed at least since 1969. Our conclusion is not surprising in view of the long history of hostility between black and white Port Arthurians which has manifested itself in the form of discrimination, white flight, and, more recently, black political activism. Although a black has not defeated a white in a councilmanic election since 1963, a single black, Arthur Guidry, has continuously served on the City Council from that time to the present. Mr. Guidry first ran at large in 1963 as an incumbent carry-over from the single-member district system, and he has only faced black opponents. In recent years, he has won reelection without a majority of the black votes only because he enjoys the support of the City’s white community. Finally, with respect to the contests after 1963 which involved only white candidates, we note that the black citizens of Port Arthur have been unable to wield a so-called “swing vote;” the black population has been unable to influence the outcome of the race by rallying behind one of the two white contestants. D. History of Mexican-Americans in Port Arthur Originally, the Hispanic population of Port Arthur was concentrated in an area west of Houston Avenue known as “the colonial”, but plaintiff contends that it has since dispersed throughout the City. In support of this assertion, the City directs our attention to the 1970 Census which revealed that fifteen of the twenty-one Census tracts comprising Port Arthur each included over 100 Mexican-Americans and that only one tract contained none. Nevertheless, there is persuasive evidence that the Hispanic community may not be evenly distributed today. According to the 1980 Census statistics, Mexican-Americans accounted for 17.60% of the inhabitants of tract 52 whereas tract 58 included only one person of Spanish origin. The greatest number of Mexican-Americans apparently live in the area designated as tracts 54-56 and 63-68 which is east of Houston Avenue and west of Groves. Plaintiff curiously admitted as much by circling tract 65 and labelling it “Hispanic concentration” on a map presented to the Attorney General in conjunction with the City’s 1979 application for preclearance under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The testimony relating to other aspects of the lives of Port Arthur’s Mexican-Americans is somewhat sparse. However, with respect to electoral politics, it appears that they have been afforded the opportunity to participate fully. Yet, few, if any, Hispanic citizens have actually run for office, and no Mexican-American has ever won a position on the Port Arthur City Council. In addition, there is no evidence that the individuals of Spanish origin have voted or will vote as a block. On the issue of at-large versus single-member district electoral systems, for example, there was testimony that most Mexican-Americans in Texas favor the latter, but neither Mr. Flores nor Mr. Silva, two Hispanic residents of the Port Arthur metropolitan area, supported the ward system. E. Procedural History The instant litigation was initiated by a letter from the City of Port Arthur received by the Attorney General on January 21, 1978, which requested preclearance under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act for the voting changes occasioned by the consolidation with Pear Ridge and Lakeview and the adoption of the 7-0-1 plan. Within sixty days, the Attorney General interposed a timely objection denying preclearance because the consolidation significantly diluted black voting strength and the 7-0-1 plan did not sufficiently minimize the discriminatory impact of this dilution. “Should the City of Port Arthur undertake to elect members of its city council from fairly-drawn single-member districts,” however, the Department of Justice offered to reconsider its objection. While the application for preclearance was under consideration, Port Arthur attempted to implement the unapproved voting changes. Consequently, four black Port Arthurians, including the intervenor-de-fendants Walter Mosely and Willie Lewis, obtained an injunction against the City from a three-judge federal court in Texas. Mosely v. Sadler, No. B-78-69-CA (E.D. Tex. March 27, 1979). The complaint also challenged the at-large voting plan on fourteenth and fifteenth amendment grounds, but the court found no such violation. Mosely v. Sadler, 469 F.Supp. 563 (E.D.Tex. 1979). As permitted by the Procedures for the Administration of Section 5, 28 C.F.R. 21.-51(b), 51.23 and 51.24, the City requested that the Attorney General reconsider his objections to the consolidation and the 7-0-1 plan. In addition, plaintiff submitted the annexation of Sabine Pass and the 8-0 — 1 plan for preclearance. On March 5, 1980, within thirty days after receipt of the request, the Attorney General declined to withdraw the earlier objections or approve the 8-0-1 plan because Port Arthur had not adopted a fairly-drawn single-member district plan as recommended. The annexation of Sabine Pass was also disapproved because it merely “exacerbated the dilution of minority voting strength caused by the earlier consolidation.” Noting the lengthy delay which had occurred since the first objection had been interposed, the Attorney General ordered the City to notify his office within seven days as to what steps it was willing to take to obtain a withdrawal of the initial objection and the present objection and to obtain preclearance of the ordinances establishing advisory councils. On March 12, 1980, the City of Port Arthur responded by filing the complaint which resulted in the instant suit. Subsequently, the citizens of Port Arthur attempted to reach an agreement on a new election system through the CRS mediation program. When the negotiations broke down, the City Council was presented with two petitions requesting a special Charter change election on the 2-6-1 and the 4 — 4-1 plans. Before the referendum was held, however, the United States Department of Justice filed suit before a three-judge federal district court in the Eastern District of Texas seeking an injunction against it. Although the Texas court permitted the City to proceed with the election, it reserved decision on the “legal effectiveness” thereof. United States of America v. City of Port Arthur, No. B-80-216-CA (E.D.Tex. July 24, 1980). On August 9, 1980, the inhabitants of the enlarged City voted in favor of amending the City Charter by substituting the 4 — 4-1 plan for the existing electoral scheme. The same three judges who had previously denied the injunction against the election then granted the City authority “to declare the results of the referendum election and to certify the City Charter amendment for the sole and limited purpose of complete submission to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia before which the City’s declaratory judgment action is now pending.” United States of America v. City of Port Arthur, No. B-80-216-CA (E.D.Tex. Sept. 5, 1980). Accordingly, the complaint before us was amended so that it now includes three counts: Count I seeks a declaratory judgment that the 8-0-1 plan, in the context of the consolidation with Pear Ridge and Lakeview and the annexation of Sabine Pass, is without discriminatory purpose and effect; Count II asks for a declaration to the same effect with respect to the 4-4-1 plan; and Count III requests a declaratory judgment that the establishment of advisory councils from Pear Ridge and Lakeview is not a voting change within the scope of section 5 and, if it is, that it did not have an illicit purpose or effect. II. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW In 1965, Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973-1973p (1974) (amended 1975), “to rid the country of racial discrimination in voting.” South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301, 315, 86 S.Ct. 803, 812, 15 L.Ed.2d 769 (1966). This purpose was accomplished in part by the remedy set forth in section 5, 42 U.S.C. § 1973c, the suspension of all new voting regulations pending review by federal authorities to determine whether their use would perpetuate voting discrimination. Under section 5, a “State or political subdivision” determined to be within the coverage of the Act after November 1,1972, may not “enact or seek to administer any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting different from that in force or effect on November 1, 1972,” unless such change has been precleared by the Attorney General or unless the State or subdivision obtains a declaratory judgment from a three-judge panel of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that such change “does not have the purpose and will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color” or membership in a protected language minority group. 42 U.S.C. § 1973c. See South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 383 U.S. 301, 86 S.Ct. 803, 15 L.Ed.2d 769 (1966). Exercising the jurisdiction vested in this Court by section 5, we initially determine that plaintiff City of Port Arthur is subject to the strictures of that provision. The Voting Rights Act was declared applicable to the State of Texas in 1975, Briscoe v. Bell, 432 U.S. 404, 97 S.Ct. 2428, 53 L.Ed.2d 439 (1977); 40 Fed.Reg. 43746 (Sept. 23, 1975), and it is well established that political units within covered jurisdictions must comply with the preclearance requirement of section 5. City of Rome v. United States, 446 U.S. 156, 100 S.Ct. 1548, 1554, 1556, 64 L.Ed.2d 119 (1980); United States v. Board of Commissioners of Sheffield, Alabama, 435 U.S. 110, 98 S.Ct. 965, 55 L.Ed.2d 148 (1978). Furthermore, it is clear that all of the electoral changes for which plaintiff seeks approval come within the purview of the Act. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that altering boundary lines by annexations or consolidations which enlarge the city’s number of eligible voters constitutes the change of a “standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting.” See, e. g., City of Rome, 100 S.Ct. at 1554; City of Richmond v. United States, 422 U.S. 358, 367-68, 95 S.Ct. 2296, 2302-03, 45 L.Ed.2d 245 (1975); Perkins v. Matthews, 400 U.S. 379, 388-90, 91 S.Ct. 431, 436-37, 27 L.Ed.2d 476 (1971); City of Petersburg, Virginia v. United States, 354 F.Supp. 1021, 1028 n.16 (D.D.C. 1972), aff’d, 410 U.S. 462, 93 S.Ct. 1441, 35 L.Ed.2d 698 (1973). Similarly, any modification of voting plans or procedures is by definition subject to preclearance under section 5. See, e. g., City of Rome, 100 S.Ct. at 1554; Beer v. United States, 425 U.S. 130, 133, 96 S.Ct. 1357, 1360, 47 L.Ed.2d 629 (1976); Georgia v. United States, 411 U.S. 526, 530-35, 93 S.Ct. 1702, 1705-08, 36 L.Ed.2d 472 (1973); Perkins v. Matthews, 400 U.S. at 390-94, 91 S.Ct. at 437-39; Allen v. Board of Elections, 393 U.S. 544, 563-71, 89 S.Ct. 817, 830-34, 22 L.Ed.2d 1 (1969). Finally, the Court deems the scope of section 5 broad enough to encompass the creation of elected advisory councils from the areas formerly known as Pear Ridge and Lakeview. See Allen v. Board of Elections, 393 U.S. at 563-71, 89 S.Ct. at 817-34; Horry County v. United States, 449 F.Supp. 990, 995 (D.D.C. 1978). The burden of proving that the above-mentioned voting changes are nondiscriminatory rests squarely on the plaintiff. City of Rome, 100 S.Ct. at 1565 n.18; Georgia v. United States, 411 U.S. at 539, 93 S.Ct. at 1710; South Carolina v. Katzen-bach, 383 U.S. at 335, 86 S.Ct. at 822; Hale County v. United States, 496 F.Supp. 1206, 1215 (D.D.C. 1980); City of Petersburg, 354 F.Supp. at 1027-28. More specifically, plaintiff must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the proposed “standard, practice or procedure” does not have the purpose of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race, color, or linguistic affiliation and that it will not have that effect. City of Rome, 100 S.Ct. at 1559-60; City of Petersburg, 354 F.Supp. at 1027. Upon consideration of the entire record before us, we conclude that the City of Port Arthur has failed to shoulder this burden. Although plaintiff has established that the principal motives for enlarging its boundaries and creating advisory councils were non-discriminatory, the City has not shown .the lack of a discriminatory purpose behind the adoption of either the 4 — 4-1 or the 8-0-1 plans. Viewing those electoral systems in the context of expanded borders as we must, we also find that plaintiff has failed to prove that their implementation will not have a discriminatory effect. For the same reason, we decline to approve the institution of advisory councils elected by the people of Pear Ridge and Lakeview. Because the evidence of discriminatory purpose is buttressed by that relating to discriminatory effect, we will address those issues in the reverse order. A. Effect of the Voting Changes 1. In the context of the expanded City, each of the proposed voting plans has a discriminatory effect. We deal first with the question of whether or not the expansion of Port Arthur in conjunction with the voting plans at issue has the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote within the meaning of section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. It has often been acknowledged that additions such as the consolidation of Port Arthur with Pear Ridge and Lakeview and the subsequent annexation of Sabine Pass “present unusual considerations and require special judicial treatment.” City of Rome, 472 F.Supp. 221, 245 (D.D.C. 1979), aff’d, 446 U.S. 156, 100 S.Ct. 1548, 64 L.Ed.2d 119 (1980). Virtually any consolidation or annexation will alter the racial composition of the jurisdiction thereby diluting the voting strength of one racial group or another. Were section 5 to prohibit expansion for that reason alone, a city “would be effectively locked into its original boundaries” and unable to respond to the compelling, non-discriminatory requirements of municipal finance, orderly growth, or the provision of city services. Id.; City of Petersburg, 354 F.Supp. at 1030. As we have recognized in the past, such a result could not have been intended by Congress when it enacted the Voting Rights Act. City of Rome, 472 F.Supp. at 245; City of Petersburg, 354 F.Supp. at 1030; accord, City of Richmond, 422 U.S. at 369, 95 S.Ct. at 2303. Consequently, this Court has adopted an approach endorsed by the Supreme Court whereby a boundary enlargement which “significantly reduces the proportion of voters of a particular race” will only be refused preclearance under the “effect” test if the minority race is “denied the opportunity to obtain ‘representation reasonably equivalent to [its] political strength in the enlarged community.’ ” City of Rome, 472 F.Supp. at 245, aff’d, 446 U.S. 156, 100 S.Ct. 1548, 64 L.Ed.2d 119, quoting City of Richmond, 422 U.S. at 370, 95 S.Ct. at 2304; accord, United Jewish Organizations of Wil-liamsburgh, Inc. v. Carey, 430 U.S. 144, 160, 97 S.Ct. 996, 1007, 51 L.Ed.2d 229 (1977); City of Petersburg, 354 F.Supp. at 1030. This analysis was initially applied to the City of Petersburg, Virginia, which was marred by a long history of state-imposed segregation and discrimination which manifested itself in almost total bloc voting by race. City of Petersburg, 354 F.Supp. at 1025. Although blacks had won some council seats by majority vote in at-large elections, the City Council had always had a majority of white members who had generally proven unresponsive to the expressed needs and desires of the black community. Id. at 1026-27. The annexation in question increased the white population by 30% and the number of blacks by only 1%, shifting the latter group from a majority to a minority of the electorate. Id. at 1024. We realized that the annexation per se was not discriminatory, but we held that: the dilution here has occurred as a result of the annexation in the context of at-large elections and bloc-voting by race, and under these circumstances it abridges the right to vote on account of color by impairing the ability of blacks to elect candidates of their choice and to have their ideas on political matters afforded the recognition to which they are entitled on their merits and by virtue of their individual citizenship and their numerical strength in the community. Id. at 1029. Rather than simply forbidding the annexation, however, we required the City to shift from an at-large to a ward system of electing its councilmen even though “the force of black voting strength will be increased over the results they have been able presently to achieve even with a majority of the voters.” Id. at 1031. The Supreme Court affirmed without opinion. 410 U.S. 462, 93 S.Ct. 1441, 35 L.Ed.2d 698. The approach we adopt was next exemplified by City of Richmond, 422 U.S. 358, 95 S.Ct. 2296, 45 L.Ed.2d 245. There, after Richmond annexed some adjacent territory which augmented the number of whites by 32% and blacks by just over 1% thus transforming the former black majority into a 42% minority, the City implemented a single-member district plan which promised to produce four black councilmen on a nine-member Council. Id. at 363, 366, 95 S.Ct. at 2300, 2301. Despite the diminution in relative black voting strength, the Supreme Court upheld the annexation and the ward system because the electoral system “would afford [blacks] representation reasonably equivalent to their political strength in the enlarged community. . . . Negro power in the new city is not undervalued, and Negroes will not be underrepresented on the council.” Id. at 370-371, 95 S.Ct. at 2303-2304. Most recently, we addressed the problem of annexations which decrease the minority proportion of the population in City of Rome, 472 F.Supp. 221. The circumstances of the black minority were not as grievous as those in City of Petersburg. Black voters had not been impeded by direct barriers to voting for many years, and the white elected officials had been quite responsive to the needs of the black community. Id. at 224-25. Very few blacks had run for office, however, and no black candidate had ever won an election; although there was no statistical demonstration of racially polarized voting, we concluded that “a substantial measure of racial bloc voting” existed. Id. at 225-27. In this context, Rome proceeded to annex areas in which “presently close to 10% of the white voters, and virtually none of the black voters, reside.” Id. at 2