SPREAD CITIZEN REDISTRICTING

The Modesto Bee
March 17, 2011

Over the next five months, the 14 members of the new California Citizens Redistricting Commission will use 2010 Census numbers to draw new boundaries for Assembly, state Senate and congressional districts, effective for the 2012 elections. 

By passing Proposition 11 in 2008 and Proposition 20 last year, California voters said they wanted citizens drawing political boundaries, rather than elected officials who stand to gain either individually or as a party. 

In Modesto, voters now elect council members by geographic districts. And the district boundaries -- used for the 2009 election and against this year -- were drawn by a citizens commission. There were few complaints about the decisions. Once all the 2010 Census data is in hand, another commission will be appointed to update the districts for 2013 and beyond. 

We think a new standard has been established: Californians citizens trust their peers more than politicians to draw fair political boundaries. 

Other local elected bodies -- Stanislaus County and the irrigation districts, for example -- should go this same route. Simply allowing the public an opportunity to comment once staff or a consultant has drawn proposed lines is no longer enough. 

Stanislaus County Chief Executive Officer Rick Robinson already has a staff team working on redistricting, but it's not too late to pull together a committee of volunteer citizens. 

And, instead of hiring a consultant and holding a public hearing at the end of the process, as has been the practice, the Modesto Irrigation District also should use a citizen committee to redraw the lines for its director districts. This kind of citizen involvement will improve the credibility of the process.