Getting involved in redistricting

California voters passed Proposition 11, the California Voters First Act, in 2008, to establish a redistricting process that is not led by politicians or consultants.

Proposition 11 gives community members a major role in the redistricting process by transferring authority for establishing Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization district boundaries to an independent 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission. The first task of the Citizens Redistricting Commission will be to adjust district lines following the

2010 Census.

The commission is an opportunity for Central Coast community members to become engaged in redistricting in an effort to make districts closer to communities of interest rather than political party safety valves, which make districts less reflective of and responsible to their community.

Through work on a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), along with the Center for Equality and Justice (CEJ), is involved in ensuring that the Citizens Redistricting Commission reflects the diversity found throughout the Central Coast region.

Forty-seven percent of the residents of Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties are people of color. By mid-January, in four of six counties, there were neither Latina nor black women applicants to the commission and in the entire six-county region only nine African-Americans have applied. Numbers indicate that 73 percent of total applicants were male and

80 percent were white, which is a clear indication that women and people of color need to increase their applications.

California’s Central Coast is often underrepresented in decisions and policies flowing from Sacramento, while the metropolitan areas, like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego are overrepresented. This is reflected in early applicants for the Citizens Redistricting Commission, where Central Coast applicants are extremely low. The more applicants we have from the Central Coast the better our chances of having representation on this commission.

The Citizen Redistricting Commission will be comprised of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four “other” (Independents, “decline to states,” etc.). Selected commissioners are qualified citizens registered in their current political party for a minimum of five years and have voted in two of the last three state elections. In addition, there are a number of eligibility limitations in order to prevent conflicts of interest, such as not having served as an elected or appointed member of a political party central committee, nor appointed or elected to federal or state office.

Commissioners are appointed for a term of 10 years, nevertheless, the vast majority of their work will be from November 2010 to September 2011. Key qualifications that commission applicants will be judged on include the ability to be impartial, relevant analytical skills and an appreciation for the state’s diverse demographics and geography.

Now is the time for Central Coast residents to consider applying for the commission and/or identify someone who will. Get involved in one of the most important processes in a democratic political system. This a particularly opportune time for people of color and working class community members to become involved in the redistricting process both during the applicant period and afterwards. The application process is simple and straightforward.

How do you get involved or encourage others to? Applications will be accepted until February 12. It’s easy to apply. Go to www.WeDraw

TheLines.ca.gov for details. Applications will be accepted online. You will also find much more information at www.commoncause.org/

redistrictingCA.

For assistance, contact regional outreach partners Maricela Morales, Associate Executive Director, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy at Maricela@coastal

alliance.com, 658-0810, and Gregory Freeland, director, Center for Equality and Justice, at gkfreeland@

yahoo.com, 493-3477.

Gregory Freeland is director of the Center for Equality and Justice in Thousand Oaks and chairman of the Department of Political Science at California Lutheran University. “The Forward View” is a progressive look at local issues that runs every Wednesday. For information, call 736-1897 or e-mail at: howerton62@aol.com.

Section: Opinion
Record Number: e23655b763668ad927681a4342444996f60ffa6
Copyright, 2010, The Lompoc Record, Lompoc, CA