UPDATE, JUNE 7, 3:14 P.M.: There's more grumbling about the county redistricting process being voiced by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).
Santa Ana LULAC Council No. 147 fears the Orange County Board of Supervisors will consider and vote on six redistricting map plans submitted by an
anonymous person–despite the Orange County
Redistricting Committee, which is composed of board appointees, having previously agreed not to accept
any plans without a name and contact information.
]
“The committee composed of the chiefs of staff
for each of the county supervisors has already acknowledged they will
disregard their own rules as they provide a façade in the process to
cover up the openness and transparency that is necessary,” reads an email from Santa Ana LULAC president
Zeke Hernandez.
He continues, “The integrity
of the process is at issue here. An average Orange County public
resident can easily see that committee members are reviewing and
recommending plans–some of these plans were submitted by their bosses
and have to be approved by their bosses. Now you have the county's
counsel advising the Redistricting Committee that even though they have
decided to recommend one
proposal, they alone can change the rules and do as they wish.”
Hernandez points to the following committee minutes:
http://egov.ocgov.com/vgnfiles/ocgov/OCGOVPortal/docs/RM5262011.doc
“These
minutes do not provide sufficient information for the public to be
informed,” Hernandez warns. “It would be better, personally, for a person to hear the
county's audio feed of the meeting to understand how the committee is
'gaming the system.'”
He provides this audio link:
“In addition to the six
phantom plans, the committee is also reviewing 10 plans submitted by the
county supervisors–this is a total of 16 plans that are questionable,” Hernandez contends. “This figures to be two-thirds of all plans submitted to the committee by
the May 18 deadline.”
He alleges some plans submitted by board members' chiefs of staff are not even
advocated by staff personnel, pointing to their comments referring to “overarching philosophy of status quo.”
In Orange County, the more things don't change, the more they stay the same.
UPDATE, JUNE 7, 1:56 P.M.: Orange County Register political reporter Martin Wisckol writes today that the Latino-heavy congressional district of Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), which had been virtually wiped out under a previous redistricting proposal, has been largely restored under a new plan.
Of course, the Orange
ORIGINAL POST, JUNE 7, 7:51 A.M.: You didn't really think redistricting political boundaries in Orange County was going to be easy, did you?
Plans on the drawing board could erase portions of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's district in Los Angeles County. But don't cry for the Huntington Beach Republican because another plan on this side of the Orange Curtain could have his coastal, GOP-leaning district swallowing up Garden Grove Democrat Loretta Sanchez's.
Sounds like the perfect place for Diana Rohrabacher.
Fallout from the U.S. Census every 10 years is a redrawing of political districts. Options range from doing nothing to the radical.
Zeke Hernandez of the Santa Ana League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council
#147 sent an email last week mentioning his group has submitted some of the twentysomething plans floating around Orange County. One LULAC version has two county supervisor districts with more than 50 percent minority representation. Good luck with that one.
Indeed, Hernandez expressed concern on behalf of LULAC that no definitive process on how submitted plans will be reviewed and recommended for adoption has been outlined by the council redistricting committee, whose members were mostly appointed by sitting supervisors (who have also submitted their own plans).
The LULAC email included this quote from Public
Policy Director Arturo Montez: “We have drawn a plan that has
ZERO concerns relating to incumbents, political parties and candidates.
These plans were drawn, keeping in mind our strong adherence to the
U.S. Voting Rights Act and the California Constitution. In addition, we
have done our best to take into consideration the public's concern for
transparency and reform in the redistricting process.”
Sounds as if there is much to bring up at upcoming public meetings on the plans, which are scheduled:
• Wednesday, 6 p.m., Buena Park Community Center (Heritage Hall), 8150 Knott Ave., Buena Park
• Thursday, 6 p.m., Orange City Hall, Council Chambers, 300 E. Chapman Ave., Orange
• June 16, 6 p.m., Westminster City Hall, Council Chambers, 8200 Westminster Blvd., Westminster
• June 23, 6 p.m., Mission Viejo City Hall, Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center, Mission Viejo
The committee is scheduled to continue working on the plan June 30 at 2 p.m. at the County Hall of Administration, 333 W. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana, and, if necessary, there again on July 7. Visit the county's website–http://egov.ocgov.com/ocgov/Government/Redistricting–for more information.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.