Solano supervisors vote for redistricting

Times-Herald (Vallejo, CA) - Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Melissa Murphy / The Reporter, Vacaville

Proposed lines for redistricting in Solano County are either a purely political move or a change that really makes sense considering the future. It all depends on who one asks. 

Only six speakers graced the Board of Supervisors with their presence during a public hearing Tuesday to weigh in on the "preferred alternative," a sixth redistricting map approved by the supervisors last week. 

The board voted 3 to 2 in favor of the map that would move the entire city of Dixon from District 5 (represented by Supervisor Mike Reagan) to District 4 (represented by John Vasquez). 

Reagan has explained the new lines are designed to more evenly divide agricultural regions in the north county area. 

Dixon Vice Mayor Michael Ceremello said Reagan's reason to redistrict is "weak." Reagan's seat is up for election in 2012, he has noted. 

"The main thing you need to realize is you're disenfranchising 20,000 voters in the Dixon area that are scheduled to vote in this coming election," Ceremello said. "To me, I think the gerrymandering aspect of this is very apparent. ... You need to be responsible to the people who voted you in and the people who will be voting in these elections." 

Others agreed that the preferred alternative reeks of gerrymandering, a practice of dividing a voting area to give a political advantage. 

Dixon Mayor Jack Batchelor, however, sees it differently. 

"The preferred alternative map reflects current and future changes in population, a better understanding of community of interests and a myriad of policy changes that will face the county in the coming decade," he told the board. 

He explained that the map follows major transportation corridors, significant topography and unites similar regions where possible. 

"The districts presented in the preferred alternative are more realistic about our connections of our agriculture, open space and includes protected and urban land," Batchelor said. 

The change was initiated by the results of the 2010 census that showed 413,344 more people in Solano County than in 2000. 

In an effort for all five districts to reach an even population of 82,669, the board is in the middle of the redistricting process. 

Supervisors Linda Seifert and Barbara Kondylis did not vote in favor of the preferred alternative. 

That particular map also shows Reagan's District 5 picking up all Travis Air Force Base housing, including homes off the base, currently in District 3 (represented by Supervisor Jim Spering). 

Because of that shift, the map shows Spering's district picking up an additional population area near Prosperity Road and Blue Jay Drive. 

Further south in Seifert's District 2, the population area bounded by Georgia Street on the south and Tennessee Street on the north would be moved into Kondylis' District 1. 

In other changes, the map shows the southern boundary of Vasquez's District 4 completely removed from the Fairfield city limits and Seifert's district 2 picking up some population in Fairfield in relation to Chadbourne Road. 

More public comment will be heard during a special meeting at 3 p.m. July 6, when the supervisors are expected to meet for a final vote on the preferred alternative map.