Have you been involved with the legally required modifications of our supervisorial districts in the wake of the census? I have and it has been very frustrating. Now an article in the Lost Coast Outpost by Hank Sims has provided insight into what has been happening.  The County’s Redistricting Process Has Been a Shambles, and the Maps it is Now Considering are Both Measurably Worse Than the Status Quo.

I urge you to take a look and then follow the suggestions below as to how to get your views to the redistricting advisory committee TOMORROW, Wednesday October 27 at 10 am (or email them).

Thanks,

Dan Chandler, 350 Humboldt Steering Committee

 

******

The Humboldt County Redistricting Advisory Committee is meeting on Wednesday at 10am to consider how Humboldt will draw its Supervisoral maps following the 2020 census.

The Redistricting Advisory Committee solicited testimony in September and October on how to redraw maps. There was little public comment and staff work from an out-of-county consultant was inadequate. As a result, the maps produced by the Redistricting Advisory Committee are worse than the existing districts by about any metric. To stop bad maps that force awkward districts, we need a large voice at the meeting.

If you can, please join the Redistricting Advisory Committee on Wednesday at 10am by Zoom to give public comment. If you can’t make it, please email [email protected] and [email protected]. Talking points are below.

Although the Supervisors will have the ultimate say in future maps, some Supervisors have indicated that they will vote to approve what the Committee decides, so getting comments to the Committee is important! The Supervisors have until December 15, 2021 to approve new maps.

Things to say to the Committee:

  1. State your name and where you live.
  2. Thank the Committee for volunteering and for their work. Bad maps are not  a reflection of their beliefs and they have volunteered their time on a frustrating and difficult process.
  3. Ask the Committee to recommend to the Board a map that makes the least changes possible to existing districts. The current districts are working well and require only minor alterations to balance population. (By contrast, the proposed maps actually make population imbalances between districts worse.)
  4. The only changes that should be contemplated are those that would unite long-standing communities of interest. For example, Rio Dell and Scotia were split into different districts in 2010.
  5. Emphasize that the Committee should reject Map A2, which would result in awkward and unusual districts. The Committee’s other alternative, Map C2, is also bad but is less bad (unless you live in District 5).