The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is preparing to announce a new district map that dilutes the African American community’s voting power by fracturing southeast San Diego, dilutes the Latino community’s voting power by dividing Escondido from its sister communities along the 78 corridor, splits Point Loma into two districts, and undermines the distinct needs of immigrant and minority communities in City Heights by joining them with La Jolla.
This is it. If the board votes on the proposed map, we will have to live with it for ten years. The Board of Supervisors is holding its last hearing on district maps on Tuesday, Sept. 6, and we need to make sure that they are paying attention to all communities in San Diego County.
Please join with the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties, and our community partners who have worked intensely throughout the summer to create supervisorial districts that represent the needs and voices of the entire population of the county. Our concerns must be registered at the Sept. 6 Board of Supervisors’ hearing at which they will hold a final vote on district maps. They need to hear loudly and clearly that the minor tinkering of boundaries between Districts 1 and 4 does not cut it!
SD County Board of Supervisors’ meeting
Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2 pm
Be sure to arrive by 1:45 pm to submit a speaker request slip!
SD County Administration Building, Room 310
[map & directions]
After feeling a surge of pressure from the San Diego ACLU and coalition partners, the Board of Supervisors voted in August to revisit their originally proposed redistricting map, which did not comply with the Voting Rights Act.
On August 31st, the board revealed its new proposed plan. Although their new map lines create a majority-minority district in south county and technically meet the lowest threshold of the Voting Rights Act’s provisions, the map cynically does so at the expense of other communities by splitting apart cohesive enclaves. The supervisors' new map, which is very similar to their original plan, continues to reflect the interests of an old San Diego. It does not reflect the evolving sense of communities and the dramatic shift of demographics in the past 20 years.
The San Diego Union-Tribune questioned the new district lines and the supervisors’ motives in an editorial, and urged San Diegans to weigh in at Tuesday’s board meeting. “Politicians protect their interests; that these supervisors are all white Republicans doesn’t mean race is driving their decisions,” said the Union-Tribune editorial board. “But if political self-preservation violates the Voting Rights Act, critics have a powerful lever to upend the status quo.”
On Tuesday, September 6th, the supervisors will be reviewing and discussing this new plan. It is imperative that community voices be heard. Please join us at the County Administration Building at 2:00 pm to speak on behalf of your community. With the coalition's good work and your assistance, we saw for the first time in decades county supervisors being forced to consider community input when drafting district maps. We’ve begun to make a seismic shift. We need to continue to pressure the San Diego Board of Supervisors to do the right thing, respect the letter and the spirit of the Voting Rights Act, and sign on to a map that reflects the interests of the full diversity of our beautiful county.
See you at the County Administration Building, Room 310 on Tuesday at 1:45 pm!
