Charting political borders - HEARING: Panel on redistricting seeks input this week in Long Beach.

Eric Bradley
Daily Breeze
April 26, 2011

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the independent panel created to redraw the state's political boundaries, will meet with the public Wednesday in Long Beach.

The meeting in City Council Chambers will allow residents to provide testimony about their communities. The commission will use the information, along with new U.S. Census data, to draw new congressional as well as state Assembly, Senate and Board of Equalization districts.

"Redistricting affects everything, from how much money your schools get to the taxes you pay," said Mike Ward, an Orange County Republican and commission member.

Those stakes make it important for citizens to speak up during the once-

a-decade reapportionment process, Ward said. "We want to hear about what communities they're similar to and what communities they're not similar to," he said.

The commission was created in 2008, when voters decided to take the power to draw state political districts away from the state Legislature and give it to the 14-person commission that is composed of five Democrats, five Republicans and four members who decline to state their affiliations. In 2010, voters added congressional districts to the commission's purview.

Like many areas in California, the South Bay has some oddly arranged districts that were drawn in 2001 by legislators who wanted to protect incumbent parties and dilute the voting power of the minority party.

The 25th Senate District, for example, tosses in Democrat-heavy cities such as Inglewood and Compton with the Republican-majority Palos Verdes Peninsula.

Political considerations are barred from the commission's work - except to ensure that no incumbent, candidate or political party is favored or discriminated against.

The panel's goals are to ensure districts are of equal population, that they comply with the Voting Rights Act that outlaws race-based discrimination at the polls, and that they are contiguous, respect communities with common interests and are shaped regularly.

The requirements are difficult to balance, Ward said, especially in a population-dense area like the South Bay.

"Some tough decisions are going to be made about splitting cities," he said.

Information on the input hearings and additional Southern California meetings scheduled for next week can be found at the commission's website, www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov. The public hearings also will be streamed live at the same website.

The commission is scheduled to release its first set of draft maps on June 10. The law requires the panel to approve final district maps by Aug. 15.