To get good political representation in Fresno County, redistricting must be fair
Every 10 years, federal law requires the realignment of legislative and congressional districts to reflect population shifts indicated by the decennial U.S. Census. Locally, realignment takes the form of a redistricting process for cities and counties that elect government officials based on districts. Districts for the Fresno City Council and the Fresno County Board of Supervisors will change, but not the Clovis City Council.
To promote fairness and equity, state and federal requirements have been established to guide the process. Close adherence to redistricting requirements will guarantee active public voice in the central San Joaquin Valley with its diverse ethnic/racial population, many isolated rural communities and largely under-served minority groups.
The state’s FAIR MAPS Act, passed in 2019, establishes five principles when drawing new district boundaries; two are particularly salient for the central San Joaquin Valley. First, redistricting should aim to keep intact neighborhoods and communities of interest. These are the many geographical areas that share the same language and culture and similar interests in education, housing, community safety, transit systems, health care and environmental concerns. The geographic integrity of these populations should be respected when new maps are drawn.
A second priority notes the importance of keeping districts compact. For example, enclosing rural areas in single districts should not unnecessarily expand district boundaries and create irregular shapes that suggest racial or partisan gerrymandering. Strategic compactness avoids undue large distances between communities that make it difficult for meaningful political representation and community voice.
The election of city and county officials that reflect the diversity of the central San Joaquin Valley requires a fair, transparent and equitable redistricting process. It also involves the due diligence of all community members to participate. However, already there is cause for concern at the county level over the cavalier attitude most members of Board of Supervisors have demonstrated toward pending boundary changes.
On April 13, at their regular meeting, several supervisors made comments about the redistricting process that were misleading and inaccurate. This is cause for the community to mistrust the potential mapping changes and redistricting process offered by the Board of Supervisors.
One member claimed proposed boundary changes will only require “some minor tweaks” and affect only three to five census tracts. In fact, preliminary data from the 2019 American Community Survey indicate there has been significant population growth of almost 25 percent in District 5 (a population increase of 43,000). The percent of Latinos in that district increased by 50 percent since 2010.
Added to the mistrust is the poor judgment of hiring a controversial demographer to guide the county’s mapping decisions. The National Demographics Corporation (NDC) has been the subject of lawsuits and has a history of being politically biased in creating districts that protect incumbent elected officials. In one case, a judge threw out much of the testimony of an expert who was brought in by Republican lawmakers. That testimony was from the founder and president of NDC.
Finally, the board chose to appoint a Redistricting Advisory Commission to make recommendations on mapping new district boundaries rather than create an independent entity. Sadly, the commission appointees include twice as many Republicans as Democrats, and do not reflect the rich ethnic/racial diversity of Fresno County.
The myriad of social issues that challenge our Valley have been exacerbated by the failure of policies and practices to remedy the conditions of poverty, poor health care, homelessness, environmental concerns, and unequal schooling. Fair and equitable redistricting 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.
Our democracy is advanced by an informed citizenry and engaged civic participation. We encourage residents to learn about the redistricting process by attending one of the public hearings (there will be one in each district) and provide public testimony about their community. For more information about the Redistricting Advisory Commission and calendar of public hearings, visit the Fresno County Board of Supervisors website.