‘Misrepresented and divided.’ Fresno marchers demand fair redistricting ahead of county vote
Fresno County communities are at stake of being “misrepresented and divided” by new district boundaries that will be decided soon, warned organizers of a Saturday march attended by hundreds in downtown Fresno and led by the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
“This fight is not over,” said its president, 91-year-old labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, who led the march from Arte Américas to a plaza outside Fresno County Superior Court, where marchers gathered to listen to speakers. “This is our last effort here to make the Board of Supervisors listen to you – listen to you – so that we can have the representation we need.”
Board of Supervisors districts are being redrawn, which happens every 10 years. A redistricting commission appointed by supervisors rejected a new district map in October that was backed by the foundation and others, instead advancing three others to the board.
Last month, four of the five supervisors picked a new district map that was updated by county staffers after concerns were raised about another prepared by Republican attorney and strategist Alex Tavlian. This new map, called County Map D, will go to the board Dec. 14 for a final vote. The county said the process must be completed by Dec. 15.
“If they do not give us a fair map, what are we going to do? We’re going to have to take them to court!” Huerta said.
Kern County in 2018 lost a court case for diluting the Latino vote in its redistricting process and depriving Latinos of an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice.
While Hispanic residents make up almost 54% of Fresno County’s population, the only Latino on the Board of Supervisors is Sal Quintero. The board manages a budget of $3.9 billion and a slew of social services.
Huerta said those in power in Fresno County have been behind “years and years of neglect” in low-income communities of color.
“And these people are staying there and they’ve been there for years and years, and they are still neglecting the community and what the community needs, and they want to be there for the next 10 years! Do we want them there for the next 10 years?” Huerta asked the crowd, which responded with a resounding “No!”
“We want more for our children,” continued Huerta, who mentioned clean water, sidewalks, street lights and libraries.
The Saturday event was attended by at least around 400 people, with some organizers estimating more than 500 at its peak.
Roberto Bustos, known as “El Capitan” during the historic farmworker march with Cesar Chavez from Delano to Sacramento, was among those in attendance. He said he came out Saturday to be an advocate for voting and union rights and “representation for all.”
“We’re still struggling,” Bustos said. “We still want to make changes. We still want our rights restored. ... Don’t forgot about us, the low-income people, the poverty people, the farmworkers.”
The Fair Maps Act (Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities And Political Subdivisions) was passed in 2019 to further direct the redistricting process. Among its stipulations, it calls for public participation in the map-making process as one way to combat gerrymandering, where boundaries have been manipulated to favor one political party or group.
Gerrymandering is voter suppression and an example of “systemic racism we are trying to address,” the Dolores Huerta Foundation said in promoting the march, led with assistance from many partner organizations. Flyers for the March For Our Future event also talked about the need for more social services and funds to address the impact of COVID-19 in the Central Valley.
In the Fresno area, organizers said they are most concerned about the Fresno County redistricting process, but that redistricting efforts at other local and state levels are also a big concern. A final vote is expected Dec. 9 for a new Fresno City Council district boundary map. Concerns were raised about the council’s preferred map during a council meeting this week.
The Board of Supervisors’ preferred district boundaries haven’t changed substantially and are “status quo,” which is unacceptable, especially given how much the population continues to grow and change, said Lori Pesante, director of civic engagement and government relations for the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
“Why would they pass a map that is likely to produce the same disproportionate representation?” Pesante said. “That’s really problematic. And even if it weren’t just simply problematic, it goes totally in the face of a huge tsunami of public input. I’ve never seen participation in the redistricting process like we’ve seen in this cycle.”
Camila Chavez – executive director of the foundation; and daughter of Huerta, and niece of Cesar Chavez, who both founded the United Farm Workers of America with others in the 1960s – said many things still need to change.
“Our needs are not being met,” Chavez said. “Our needs are being overlooked and intentionally undermined.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2021 at 4:18 PM.
