Citizens, not Fresno County politicians, need the final say on political redistricting

The term “gerrymandering” refers to the ill practice of drawing political boundary lines to benefit a candidate or political party. It is a devious way of helping those who are already in office or strengthening one party at the detriment of another.

In California it used to be that legislators would draw the lines for elected offices every 10 years once new census data came out. But gerrymandering revealed the flaw in that process, and in 2008 California voters approved the creation of an independent commission that would be in charge of drawing up the boundaries.

The state commission determines the political boundaries for congressional, state Senate, Assembly and the Board of Equalization. Locally, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors oversees the effort for its districts.

So it is understandable that the American Civil Liberties Union would raise alarms over remarks made earlier this year by some supervisors.

As reported this week by Bee staff writer Yesenia Amaro, the ACLU of Northern California, the ACLU of Southern California and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California sent a letter to the supervisors and the Fresno County Redistricting Advisory Commission.

The groups point out that remarks by supervisors at an April meeting go against principles how the every-10-years redistricting effort is to be done.

The supervisors indicated they wished their districts could stay as is “by only changing the districts at the margins to balance the population.”

One of the supervisors who spoke out, District 5’s Nathan Magsig, said that his comments were only meant to show respect for his current district and his chance to represent it.

“If I could, I would say keep the lines exactly as they are because I appreciate having the opportunity to serve everyone who is currently in my district,” Magsig said, according to the meeting’s recording.

Magsig knows better

Magsig and the rest of the supervisors know, or should be aware, that their views on redistricting are of limited importance. The voters intended this to be a citizen-driven effort, not one by elected officials.

District 4 Supervisor Buddy Mendes was quoted as saying redistricting would only need “tweaking” or “moving over” somewhere “between 3 to 5 census tracts.”

Whether that is sufficient is not for him to say. Mendes has a sprawling district that runs from the east side to the west side. He likely could better represent constituents if those boundaries were reduced.

The comments by Magsig and Mendes could be considered an intimidation tactic directed at the firm hired by the board to analyze the census data and draw up the boundaries.

Both Magsig and Mendes told Amaro they meant nothing of the kind. They pledged to follow the law, which of course is what voters expect.

Fair, equitable redistricting

There are key principles the new maps will have to follow. For one thing, “communities of interest” are to be respected. Such communities are those that share language, culture and interests in things like education, housing and safety.

Another principle is drawing up maps with compact, not sprawling, districts. And boundaries with irregular shapes are to be avoided.

Paul A. Garcia, a retired Fresno-area educator and member of the Central California Coalition for Equitable Realignment, wrote a Valley Voice essay that The Bee published in July that called on the supervisors to support fair and equitable redistricting.

Such realignment “can lead to increased public trust, the election of officials who know and care about their constituents, and begin the arduous charge to end historical inequities across some of the county districts,” Garcia said.

The supervisors formed an advisory commission to help with the redistricting. It has nine members. While the effort is to be nonpartisan, at least six of the commissioners are conservative. Here is hoping they focus on fairness.

There has to be public trust in this process, as Garcia points out. County supervisors, follow the law as expected, and don’t use this once-a-decade exercise to play politics. Otherwise, the redistricting of your seats will be seen as a sham.

Learn more

Fresno County has a website devoted to its redistricting effort. Included is a calendar of upcoming meetings in which the public can offer comments. For the calendar and more, go online to https://www.co.fresno.ca.us/resources/redistricting.

This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.