A public hearing to discuss the proposed remapping of U.S. Congressional and state Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization districts will be held tonight in Culver City. California has turned the business of drawing electoral districts over to its citizens, and Pacific Palisades will likely be aligned with new communities in future elections. Tonight’s meeting is the only one currently scheduled on the Westside before a second draft of the district maps is to be released July 7; the deadline for a final version is August 15. The 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission released its first draft of the new districts last Friday. The mandate of the commission, established as a result of Proposition 11 in 2008, was to align the electoral districts with common-sense geographical boundaries, without breaking up neighborhoods or ‘communities of interest’ that share social and economic concerns. The group, which held numerous meetings to gather public input, is committed to ignore partisan politics in drawing new lines. Statewide, the redistricting favored Democrats, who political analysts said could gain as many as five Congressional seats. Matt Rexroad, a Republican political consultant on redistricting, told the Los Angeles Times that a two-thirds Democratic majority in the state Legislature was also ‘very much in play.’ As for Pacific Palisades, it is set to lose some of the communities with which it is now allied and gain others. The towns joined together as a district vary widely, depending on which government body is involved. But in all cases at this point, the Palisades is separated from cities to the north across the Santa Monica Mountains, like Agoura Hills and Hidden Hills. For purposes of state Senate races, Pacific Palisades is currently designated as part of a largely coastal district, stretching from just south of Sunset Mesa down through much of San Pedro. Most of this area would be represented in Sacramento by Sen. Ted Lieu (D), rather than Sen. Fran Pavley (D), who is running for re-election in 2012. The Assembly district map, however, splits the coast of Malibu from its canyons, then joins that populous strip of coastline to the Palisades down through Playa Vista and adds Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Hollywood and even part of Griffith Park to form a contiguous voting district. This district would continue to be represented by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D) through the 2012 election. She is then termed out. As for what is now Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D) district, the boundaries would be redrawn to exclude Santa Monica (but retain Pacific Palisades) and stretch farther east and north, picking up both Hollywood and the Mid-Wilshire district, stopping only at the Harbor (110) and Hollywood (101) Freeways near downtown. Changes are likely as a result of upcoming public forums. ’These are simply the first round of draft maps,’ Pavley told the Palisadian-Post last Friday. ‘I am disappointed that under this preliminary map I would not be representing the people of Pacific Palisades and that the Santa Monica Mountains would be split. However, the commissioners said today they are almost certain that some of the Senate district maps will change before the next round of maps are released.’ The new districts are expected to cause turmoil in a number of elections statewide, as incumbents are forced to go head-to-head in newly defined districts or officials lose a key constituency to redrawn boundaries. For example, Rep. Maxine Waters’ (D-Los Angeles) district would shift from roughly 40 percent African-American to more than 50 percent Latino, according to Roll Call, which covers Capitol Hill. Elected officials were specifically asked not to interfere with the commission’s process, meant to be a triumph of practicality over politics. As a result, politicians had their first glimpse of the proposed districts Friday, and are limited to the same public input as any citizen. Rep. Henry Waxman, who represents the Palisades in Congress, declined to comment at this stage. Brownley told the Post on Tuesday that because ‘these maps could change dramatically before all this is said and done,’ she is not weighting the first draft so much. ‘Part of Proposition 11 was to maintain clear transparency, which means that they are literally required to publish all drafts.’ She did speculate that Ventura and Oxnard would not be part of the district, as the commission resisted breaking up cities and counties. But she said there was a good possibility the district will still represent both sides of the Santa Monica Mountains, as there are ‘communities of interest’ on both sides. Brownley remains confident that ‘the district will remain strong, Democratic and progressive.’ Pavley urged voter participation in the redistricting process. ’The commission will be holding meetings up and down the state over the next two months and I urge everyone to submit written or verbal testimony to the commissioners about the importance of keeping communities of interest intact,’ Pavley said After the July 7 release, one more draft will be issued on July 28. Nine commissioners’including at least three Republicans, three Democrats and three who have declined to state an affiliation’must agree by August 15, or the matter will be sent to arbitration. Citizens can comment on the boundaries at tonight’s meeting from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Culver City’s City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd. Comments may also be submitted by e-mail at votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov, by fax to (916) 651-5711 or by mail to the Citizens Redistricting Commission, 901 P Street, Suite 154-A, Sacramento, CA 95814.
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