Almost-final redistricting maps show possible gains for Latinos

The fact that no Latino or Latina has been elected to Congress north of the Los Ángeles-Santa Bárbara region was not lost on California Redistricting commissioner Sara Sadhwani in October.

“We’ve had a number of conversations about Latino representation in general at the commission level, and certainly when it comes to Latino representation and the ability for Latino communities to elect candidates of their choice,” said Sadhwani during a video meeting with ethnic media.

Whether a Latina or Latino makes history next November by winning a Congressional seat in the San Joaquín Valley or the Bay area will depend on the work of Sadhwani and her 13 fellow commissioners as they race to meet a Dec. 27 deadline to finish redistricting Congressional, state Senate, Assembly, and state Board of Equalization maps.

Sadhwani, an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College, said the commission has obligations under the Voting Rights Act to make sure that communities of color are fairly represented.

Thus far, the commission appears to be keeping communities of interest together and protecting minority voting power.

The regional highlights of the most recent maps:

▪ Two of the five Congressional districts that focus on the Valley have a majority Latino Citizens of Voting Age Populations (CVAP).

▪ Two of five state Senate districts in the Valley, which currently has two Latina representatives, have Latino CVAP majorities.

▪ Of the eight Assembly seats that represent the Valley, four have Latino CVAP majorities. The area currently has two Latino Assemblymembers.

The maps, and their data, won’t be final until the commission approves them.

Under the old districts, Democrats rule California with 42 of 53 Congressional seats, 59 of 80 Assembly seats, and 31 of 40 state Senate seats. The state has one less Congressional seat this year due to losing one district because of slowing population growth.

There will be a flood of candidates seeking offices once the final lines are certified.

The filing period for candidates who will collect signatures-in-lieu for the June 7, 2022 primary starts on Jan. 3 and ends Feb. 9.

Candidate filing nomination for the primary starts on Feb. 14 and ends on March 11.

Maps can still be challenged in the courts through Feb. 10.

The data does not include political party representation.

Here is a look at the latest maps as of Dec. 18 for Congressional and Assembly districts, and Dec. 20 for state Senate districts.

Congressional

The 21st and 15th Congressional Districts have Latino CVAP majorities. The 21st is 53.3% Latino CVAP, and the 15th is 50.2% Latino CVAP.

District 21, which has morphed from Rep. Devin Nunes’ current district (he is not running for re-election), covers a chunk of Fresno south of Shaw and includes Sanger, Selma, Kingsburg, Reedley, Orange Cove, Dinuba, Cutler-Orosi, Woodlake, north Visalia, Farmersville, and Exeter.

District 15 is known as the Stanislaus-Fresno district stretches from Lathrop and the area south of Tracy down to Coalina and Huron. It includes Atwater, Merced, Los Baños, Modesto, Patterson and the western portion of Turlock.

District 9 has 31% Latino CVAP. Cities in it include Stockton, Lodi, Manteca, Ripon and Escalón.

District 5, with a Latino CVAP of 18.1%, skirts the east side of the Valley and includes Oakdale, Waterford, Mariposa and Oakhurst.

District 20 is 25.4% Latino CVAP and meanders from Clovis to Lemoore to Ridgecrest to Rosamond to Taft to Oildale and to Frazier Park.

State Senate

Sens. Melissa Hurtado, D-Sanger, and Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, are the first Latinos/Latinas to represent the Valley in Sacramento.

The 14th District, which includes Sanger, is 55.3% Latino CVAP. It includes Los Baños, Coalinga, Atwater, Merced, Reedley and the area south of Shaw in Fresno.

The 16th District, which is 58.1% Latino CVAP, stretches from north Visalia and Dinuba to a hunk of eastern Bakersfield. It includes Delano, Avenal, Tulare, Lemoore, Hanford, Porterville, and Kingsburg.

The 9th District is nestled in San Joaquín County and has a portion of Sacramento County. It is 31% Latino CVAP. Stockton, Lodi, Manteca, Escalón and Ripon are in the district.

District 5, which is 31.9% Latino CVAP, covers Stockton, Tracy, Lodi, Manteca, Ripon, Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton.

District 12 is 25.3% Latino CVAP. It includes Clovis, Exeter, Ridgecrest, Tehachapi, Taft and the southern part of Visalia.

State Assembly

There are two Latinos from the Valley in the Assembly: Joaquín Arámbula of Fresno and Rudy Salas of Bakersfield.

There are four majority Latino CVAP in the commission’s latest drawings.

District 27 – at 51.4% Latino CVAP – goes from Atwater and Merced in the north to Coalinga and Huron in the south. It includes Los Baños, Mendota, Firebaugh, Kerman and San Joaquín.

District 31, which is mostly in Fresno County, has 53.5% Latino CVAP. It includes a chunk of Fresno south of Shaw in addition to Sanger, Parlier, Orange Cove, Riverdale and Laton.

District 33, which is 54.1% Latino CVAP, includes Reedley, Hanford, Lemoore, Corcoran, Dinuba, Woodlake, Tulare, Porterville and Avenal.

District 35 boasts a 61.1% Latino CVAP. It includes Delano, Shafter, Wasco, Arvin, Lamont, and east Bakersfield.

District 9 is 27.7% Latino CVAP. Lodi, Galt, Manteca, Ripon, Riverbank, Waterford, and Oakdale are in the district.

District 13, which is 33.3% Latino CVAP, houses all of Stockton and Tracy.

District 22 is 35.9% Latino CVAP and is centered in Stanislaus County. Its cities include Modesto, Patterson, Turlock, Newman and Gustine.

District 32 is 25.4% Latino CVAP. It includes most of Visalia and a portion of west Bakersfield. Ridgecrest, Tehachapi and Taft are in the district.

Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 20 de diciembre de 2021, 3:44 p. m..