The Fresno Unified School Board on Wednesday evening approved a redistricting map drawn by a citizens' nonprofit that will increase the number of trustee areas with predominantly Latino populations from two to three while also adhering more closely to school attendance boundaries. Increasing the number of Latino-majority trustee areas...
Fresno Council Picks Its Own Map for Next Decade of Elections
After using nearly $100,000 of taxpayer dollars to have a consultant draw new electoral maps, the Fresno City Council went with its own map on Thursday. It's a status-quo map that largely left many council districts intact — after eight public hearings and workshops, hundreds of comments and untold hours...
California’s Messier, but Fairer, Redistricting Process
For many decades, the decennial chore of redrawing California’s congressional and legislative districts was relatively simple. Every 10 years, following the census, legislative and congressional leaders would hire some knowledgeable number-crunchers and privately divvy up the districts for purely political purposes. If one party controlled both the Legislature and the...
Will Redistricting Put Different Names on the Ballot for Fresno Voters?
It will be a rush to redraw the seven council districts in the city of Fresno. Thousands of city residents may be represented by a new council member without ever having to move. Every 10 years, the city council — like most governmental jurisdictions — changes its political boundaries based...
Latinos Must Have Proportionate Representation on Citizens Redistricting Commission
By Luis A. Alejo and Richard G. Polanco, Special to CalMatters Over the past 25 years, California has made great strides to be more inclusive and to better ensure more equitable political representation at all levels of government. However, as former and current chairs of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, we were...
Commentary: Legislators Spared From Living in Their Districts
Equity and logic would seem to dictate that state legislators should live in the districts they represent and thereby share their constituents’ daily experiences. State law has said as much for many decades, and from time to time, individual lawmakers have been caught registering to vote in their districts but...
It's California vs. Trump in Battle Over 2020 Census: Walters
California has a lot on the line with the 2020 census count. For example, even though the current population trends point to the Golden State retaining its 53 seats in the House of Representatives, an inaccurate count could result in the loss of one seat. In addition, the California Citizens...