Editorial:
In the Primary elections, the voters in the City of San Diego overwhelmingly approved the strong mayor form of government which included the approval to create a ninth district in the city.
The responsibility of carving out a new district is the responsibility of seven individuals who held their first meeting October 21st. We have to presume that this was mostly a meet and greet event. The commission’s second meeting was this past November 4. Eight community members showed up to listen to discussions about budgets and other rudimentary topics. After two public meetings, the commission has no staff per se and only recently posted a help wanted notice to fill the position of Chief of Staff for the Redistricting Commission.
At some point the commission will start the process of adopting a definition of “community of interest” and will define the criteria by which to resolve conflicts between multiple communities of interest. These definitions and criteria should be the subject of at least one commission hearing and be part of a broader public debate.
What we find disappointing is that despite the unique importance of redistricting, there has been a lack of public outreach or notification of meetings to the public. The City’s website does not provide information on the commission’s progress or future meeting dates. The only thing the website details are who the members of the commission are and that is it!
In order to create a new district, pieces of other districts will be carved out to form a consistent, common district, with equal population numbers. Redistricting in 1990 created the biggest shift in demographics when a Hispanic district, a Black district, and a Gay district were created.
This time around the Asian American communities are looking at the Mira Mesa, Kearny Mesa, and Rancho Peñasquitos communities to create a block that would favor the election of Asian American to the council. Of the eight interested community members at the Nov 4 meeting, six were Asian Americans lobbying for a district that reflects their community.
The redistricting process should take about a year to complete. There should be several community meetings. It is important for the Hispanic community to be involved with the process to ensure that their interests and concerns are heard. In 1990, District 8 (the Hispanic District) lost an important part of the downtown San Diego geography, effectively negating much of the influence and importance of District 8. Hispanics should note that it is more important to be involved with the process early on and not at the end when it could be too late to impact the process.
It is equal important that the City keep the community informed and up-to-date on the process, the citizens should at least be able to go the city web site and readily find helpful information regarding the redistricting process.
The next Redistricting Commission public hearing is on November 22, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at City Hall, 12th Floor (City Council Chamber).