On June 10, the California Citizens Redistricting Committee released its first draft of new political boundaries throughout the state. The nonpartisan commission is aiming to redraft fair and clear-cut U.S. Congressional, state Assembly, and state Senate districts, while keeping cities and communities intact.
But if approved, the new lines could create quite a headache for one Central Coast city in particular.
Lompoc Mayor John Linn said the preliminary Assembly and Senate boundaries—which cut his municipality essentially in half—will confuse and possibly short-change local voters.
As of press time, the council was set to discuss sending a letter to the commission voicing its displeasure over the proposed voting lines. It was unclear, however, how the rest of the council would receive the agenda item, introduced by Linn and Councilman Dirk Starbuck.
Currently, the city is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly in the 24th Congressional District, which includes inland areas of Santa Barbara County. The district stretches south to Simi Valley. The new lines would now lump San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties—including Lompoc—together.
The new state Assembly and state Senate districts aren’t as simply drawn. The city, currently represented by Republican Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian in the 33rd District, would be cut almost down the center. As a result, neighbors on either side of certain streets would be represented by different people.
Chris Ringewald, research manager for the redistricting commission, said he wasn’t familiar with the specific reasons why the commissioners divvied up the city the way they did, but he explained that demographic factors such as ethnicity, housing, health care, and economic interests weigh more heavily than the need to keep formal city boundaries in one district.
Prior to the June 21 Lompoc City Council meeting, Linn told the Sun the draft districts didn’t make much sense to him and don’t reflect the demographics of the diverse Lompoc Valley.
“It just seems the city was divided randomly,” Linn said. “We don’t have ethnicities or economic interests spread evenly all over town. … If they were trying to do these things, they missed it.”
Not everyone thinks having two representatives each in the Assembly and Senate would be a bad thing. Longtime community activist Robert Cuthbert, a former state Assembly and Lompoc City Council candidate, said the city could be in a unique position to get a two-for-one deal.
“In my political experience, it would be hard to imagine a politician excluding us from the political debate. … We’d be in a different position, which may not necessarily be better or worse,” Cuthbert said. “I do not believe [elected representatives] would desert their communities. In many cases, it could lead to less partisanship.”
The redistricting commission’s Ringewald wasn’t aware of any other city with a population comparable to Lompoc’s that’s facing such a split.
“I’ve read both opinions,” Linn said. “But after doing research with some nonpolitical people on this, I’m convinced that, regardless, we want to keep the valley in one [district].”
Over the last decade, Santa Barbara County’s population grew by 6.1 percent, to 423,895 people, according to 2010 U.S. Census figures.
The new maps are set to be finalized by the commission in August, but Ringewald said the body will be taking into consideration public comments on the draft as it continues to tweak it throughout the summer.
Districts are redrawn every decade after each census. The Citizens Redistricting
Commission is the result of the 2008 Voters FIRST Act.
This article appears in Jun 23-30, 2011.