On Thursday, April 7, I attended the public hearing in Morgan
Hill regarding the redistricting process in which current districts
of Santa Clara County may be changed.
Dear Editor,
On Thursday, April 7, I attended the public hearing in Morgan Hill regarding the redistricting process in which current districts of Santa Clara County may be changed. This was held by members of the County of Santa Clara Citizens Redistricting Commission who are appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
I wanted to get information and learn what criteria was to be used to define the districts. My concern was to make the districts as geographically unified as possible to give the average citizen the ability to run for office. Sadly I must say – it was politics as usual.
I did observe the map or proposal for District 3, which is a complete joke. It goes from East San Jose, through Milpitas and then down to Sunnyvale. Meanwhile, Sunnyvale is split into two. The ability for anyone except those of the “old boys club” to run and be elected is practically non-existent. I did feel that our District 1 (which includes Gilroy and Morgan Hill) was well done as it was geographically unified within the population considerations.
After the meeting I talked to staffers and asked if the maps could be completely redone, without consideration of the current districts. It was said that they had not been asked to consider that. It was possible for the current districts to be completely redone.
In the minutes of the previous meeting it was stated “The commission should prioritize the California Elections Code seat of optional criteria, which involves maintenance of equal representation of communities and of interest and their compactness, cohesiveness, topography, geography, continuity and integrity. The commission could then consider criteria recommended by the Board of Supervisors, such as to maintain continuity of present districts to the extent possible.”
This tells the tale – the supervisors want to maintain control by keeping the current status.
I was given the Federal Requirements. They are:
– Maximize equal representation
– Minimize community fragmentation
– Avoid gerrymandering
Optional requirements include:
– Maintain communities of interest
– Maintain continuity of present districts to the extent possible
– Provide income diversity within districts, to the extent possible
– Consider the member and size of cities within district.
We should also drop the “politically correctness” of diversity. We are all residents of Santa Clara County and should not be divided by the continuing special interests of the few.
United we stand, divided we fall. If we don’t change the way things are done, we will continue down the same old road.
Carol Neal, Morgan Hill
