South County leaders were not happy with a new redistricting map
that lumps Gilroy and Morgan Hill together with a large segment of
south San Jose. Yet, a 5-2 vote by the Santa Clara Valley Water
District board of directors effectively closed the lid on the
issue, which has ruffled feathers in both communities for
weeks.
South County leaders were not happy with a new redistricting map that lumps Gilroy and Morgan Hill together with a large segment of south San Jose. Yet, a 5-2 vote Friday by the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors effectively closed the lid on the issue, which has ruffled feathers in both communities for weeks.
Two weeks ago, the board chose a map that split South County into separate districts and linked Gilroy to Palo Alto based on later-rescinded support from the mayors in Gilroy and Morgan Hill. That map was thrown out Friday to South County’s delight after a caravan of county leaders professed their distaste for what many called an obviously gerrymandered map. But, the new map still has some upset; they say it diminishes the chance for representation since South County is lumped with a large population in San Jose. Directors Rosemary Kamei, who represents all cities south of Almaden in San Jose, and Joe Judge cast the two dissenting votes.
“I’m frustrated,” Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro said Friday after the vote, which redraws the old five electoral districts and two at-large North and South County positions into seven geographical districts.
The city of Gilroy had voted 7-0 to proceed with a lawsuit against the water district to rectify the Gilroy-to-Palo Alto map. Now, Pinheiro said he will review with his council whether they will proceed with a lawsuit.
After the original map was thrown out, Pinheiro, Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate, Santa Clara County Farm Bureau representative Jennifer Williams, and both cities chambers of commerce advocated a map that kept the communities together with Los Gatos and the Almaden Valley.
Their plea was shot down to balance the interests of all districts in Santa Clara County, said directors Richard Santos, Larry Wilson, Tony Estremera, Patrick Kwok and Cy Mann, who all voted for the new map, known as Map Q.
Wilson and Estremera are up for re-election in November. Kamei has not decided if she will run again for the water district board of directors or for Morgan Hill City Council instead.
The mayors’ aim was to secure two representatives – as it has been for 30 years since the water district absorbed the Gavilan Water District. The next-best option was Map S, the mayors said, because it reduces the influence of San Jose. The population of South County is most dominant in that map, making it favorable to draw a representative who lives in the region.
The redistricting must be done by the Registrar of Voters’ June 30 deadline to comply with a new state law.
An advisory redistricting committee, which was appointed by the board and pored over 20 maps for three months at public meetings across the county, recommended Map S as their first choice. To assure the board had more than one option, the committee recommended two additional maps: T and Q.
Mann said what really made him scratch his head was that Map S was defeated 4-3 among committee members in a preliminary vote.
“When there is dissent on the issue … you have to think why something is defeated at a committee level,” he said.
Former county supervisor and committee member Susanne Wilson said the vote is moot because the committee decided it would recommend three maps in order of preference instead of recommending one map.
“You’ve chosen the least favorable map,” Pinheiro told the board Friday. “I’m back here today as a mayor for a city for a 51,173 individuals. The fact is, that’s who I’m representing.”
Other directors who supported the new map said it was rooted in providing the best for every district. Kwok, Palo Alto’s director, wanted to support Map S but voted for Map Q after it became clear Map S was going to fail.
Gilroy City Administrator Tom Haglund told the board: “It’s not too late to choose Map S. It just takes a motion, a second and a vote.”
Director Judge took notice and motioned, and Kamei seconded, but all the other directors voted against the map.
A survey was posted on the water district’s website at 4 p.m. May 11 asking for comments on and rankings of the maps. The survey garnered 220 responses in 24 hours, with 163 votes against the map that linked Gilroy with Palo Alto. Maps Q and Q3 – which joins Gilroy with Campbell while linking Morgan Hill with south San Jose in two separate districts – received the most votes, 76 each, for “I really like this version.” The survey was created as another way to gather feedback from the public, according to the water district.
The Farm Bereau’s Williams supported Map S, citing specific reasons that echoed those of the mayors: the amount of land mass and that seven of the nine reservoirs are in the south.
Tate and Pinheiro said they were misled into originally supporting splitting South County because they were told they could get two representatives that way.
That configuration also allowed Mann to avoid running against Supervisor Don Gage, who has said he plans to run for the seat after his term ends this year. Mann, who was appointed by the water board in February to replace the retired Sig Sanchez, has said he will also run.
Mann’s decision to vote for the map and not what his constituents wanted demonstrated that he was not a friend of South County, Pinheiro said.
Mann said he asked the mayors for a second option Wednesday at a meeting among mayors held in Gilroy to encourage Mann to vote for Map S.
“I’m not sold on (Map) S – their input didn’t sell me. I would be happy to walk out with two options,” Mann said. “They were giving me an ultimatum.”
Mann said he did what was best for South County with the residents in mind.
Still, Pinheiro came out convinced that South County needed a change in leadership.
“There is not a second option,” Pinheiro said at Thursday’s public hearing.
He said he will do everything he can to make certain Mann isn’t elected. Pinheiro added that he will support a candidate who, in fact, represents the interests of South County.
