A dramatic last-minute appeal from northwest San Fernando Valley and Hollywood Hills-area residents failed to persuade Los Angeles County’s first-ever independent citizens redistricting commission to change its final map, which will define voting power in the county for the next decade, on Wednesday night, Dec. 15.
The 14-member commission officially approved the map with one abstention.
“We’ve all said it’s not perfect. But we have a fair map … This is democracy at work,” said Commissioner Jean Franklin.
The county’s supervisors, who were not allowed to shape the map this time, had wildly mixed responses.
The map drew a blistering condemnation from Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, incredulous over a process that she said took months to winnow the finalists down to two proposed maps based on loads of public input — only to change the final product sharply in the commission’s waning days.
Kathryn Barger was “disappointed” with how her zone was morphed, but said she looked forward to getting to know residents of her new areas with vigor.
Hilda Solis lamented the loss of Southeast L.A. communities from her district to Janice Hahn’s, who welcomed them. Both congratulated the panel, however, and vowed to push on and serve their reformed districts with enthusiasm.
“These lines are more than geographic boundaries, they hold within them long-standing relationships to the places and people who make up our neighborhoods,” said Holly Mitchell, applauding the changes to her footprint. “I’m excited to welcome the coastal cities, and one of the biggest economic drivers in the region, Los Angeles International Airport,” said Mitchell, whose District 2 was at the heart of intense focus for weeks.
The commission’s final, formal approval of the map comes after months of hearing from members of communities large and small — from Pomona to Whittier, from Redondo Beach to South L.A.
For weeks on end, through hundreds of public hearings, residents from communities around the county implored the panel not to “split” them, dividing their combined clout and potentially diluting their power at the polls.
Their pleas intensified in recent weeks, as the commission was pulled and pushed over issues of race, socio-economic identity, history, community assets and voting rights.
In the end, the commission appeared to stand resolute on its independence from county supervisors, eager to set itself apart from traditional drawing of boundaries, often motivated in decades past by groups seeking to maintain their power. Moreover, commission members appeared to put an emphasis on changes in the population over the last 10 years versus what works politically.
The final map will define voting power for the next 10 years in the most populous county in the nation, at 10 million residents strong.
The decisions will impact the political capability of communities of interest throughout the region — from the working-class East. L.A. to coastal enclaves to the northern reaches of north county.
The biggest changes to the overall map — compared to the boundaries, established a decade ago, that it replaces — are:
–With Latinos now nearly half the population of the county, the map creates two Latino-majority voting districts — District 1, currently represented by Solis, and District 4, currently represented by Hahn.
— The map moves the county’s heavily Latino Southeast L.A. communities — including Vernon, Maywood, Huntington Park, Bell, South Gate and Bell Gardens — in Hahn’s District 4, from Solis’ District 1.
–In District 2, commissioners kept united and “whole” the heavily populated African American communities in South L.A. But now, Mitchell’s district will stretch all the way to the coast, encompassing Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and El Segundo, including LAX.
–Stretching District 2 to the ocean meant splitting seaside cities that had long been included in one distinct, under Hahn. Beach cities Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan, for instance, will be split from areas in Hahn’s District 4, where Long Beach and the Palos Verdes Peninsula will reside.
–In the San Fernando Valley, changes were in the works right down to the last moment. On Sunday, a portion of the northwest San Fernando Valley — including Granada Hills and Chatsworth — was moved out of Kathryn Barger’s District 5. Meanwhile, parts of the Southeast Valley, through the Cahuenga Pass, including the Hollywood Bowl, were moved out of Kuehl’s District 3 and into Barger’s zone.
–West Hollywood, which at one point was being considered for District 5, remained in District 3.
–And the San Gabriel Valley stayed mostly in District 1, but with many of its northern foothill communities split off into Barger’s District 5. Claremont, Commerce, and Pico Rivera were redrawn out of Solis’ district. Clarement is now part of District 5, and Commerce and Pico Rivera are now also in District 4.
Supervisors spent time on Thursday welcoming new communities they will be representing under the new map while saying goodbye to communities and community landmarks they’ve represented for years.
“I look forward to serving the new iteration of the First District which will now include more unincorporated areas,” Solis said in a statement, where she lamented the loss of Southeast L.A. communities formerly in her District 1. “Residents and partner cities should be confident that there will be no interruption of projects and services – I am committed to ensuring that a smooth transition takes place.”
Supervisor Kathryn Barger was “disappointed” in the process that took northwest San Fernando Valley communities out of her district.
“It’s disappointing to lose the northwest San Fernando Valley,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, noting how well-aligned it was with communities in her district. “I’m disappointed that it was not heard. Having said that, I’m excited to get to know a whole new part of the county.”
Barger said she has a good working relationship with Paul Krekorian, whose southeast San Fernando Valley L.A. City Council District now overlaps with the county’s Fifth.
Commissioners said they did the best they could with the time they had.
“We created the best map we reasonably could given the time constraints we had,” said Commission Co-Chair Daniel Mayeda, echoing many of his colleagues on the panel.
Mayeda noted that the new county map includes fewer splits of county communities than the current map.
But the result did not come without considerable tension, especially during the final days of the process.
In the San Fernando Valley, there were significant shifts deep into Sunday night.
Communities in the southeast Valley and North Hollywood will be split between Supervisor Barger’s District 5 and Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s District 3. Valley Village and a portion of Sun Valley were redrawn out of District 3 and into Barger’s zone, joining much of the northern end of the county, Burbank, Glendale and several foothill cities stretching from La Cañada Flintridge to the San Gabriel Valley. Indeed, several local landmarks, including the Hollywood Bowl and other areas just south of the San Fernando Valley, will now be in District 5, sparking a blistering response from Kuehl.
“All of my art venue assets were still in the Third” — until Sunday,” she said. “After Sunday, the Hollywood Bowl, The Ford Theater, Universal Studios, LACMA and the (La Brea) Tar Pits, had been removed from my district. Everything was ripped out.”
The shift sparked an outcry from residents and leaders — including Kuehl — in the Northwest San Fernando Valley and the Hollywood Hills, who alleged that the map was politically motivated.
The northwest San Fernando Valley has traditionally been the most conservative section of a generally left-leaning region. And many residents identify more with the physical and demographic landscape of the Fifth District more than Kuehl’s Third.
“Why change things if they are working well? Is there a hidden agenda here?” said Wendy Gladstone of the Santa Susana Parks Association, who was among a succession of speakers from the Granada Hills and the Chatsworth area Wednesday night who objected to the grouping of the northwest Valley into District 3 to the south.
Critics say the move, coupled with the split of several southeast Valley communities, could make it harder for Barger to retain her District 5 seat, because it puts more left-leaning populations into her district.
Some have speculated that the new makeup of the zone would open up a path for someone like L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian, whose district overlaps with the southern portion of District 5, which now also includes Burbank and Glendale. Barger’s seat is next up for re-election in 2024.
Kuehl also decried potential policy impacts from the re-drawing — in particular, she was concerned about the future of criminal justice reform in the county, if a more moderate leadership is elected out of Districts 3 and 5.
Residents from the Hollywood Hills also decried the map because it redraws assets, such as the Bowl, out of District 3.
But commissioners pushed back against suggestions from critics that the last-minute moves on Sunday, which came with little public comment, were politically motivated.
Commissioner David Holtzman, who introduced the boundary changes, said he had not worked in tandem with any politicians in introducing the revised map.
“I certainly haven’t coordinated with anybody,” he said, suggesting that the commenters were all “speaking from the same script.”
Co-Chair Mayeda echoed the commission’s independence, saying “I am not carrying the water of any other person, political or otherwise,” he said.
He noted that the change on Sunday night — as the map deadline loomed — while late in the process, had been building for days.
“All the steps were leading to that point,” he said, adding that there was conflicting public testimony on both sides as to whether the northwest San Fernando Valley should be in Kuehl’s District 3 or stay in District 5.
But not all agreed.
“I found it extraordinarily frustrating and disheartening, because we’d spent so much time to ensure a fair and equitable process,” said Commissioner Doreena Wong, who ultimately abstained from the final vote.
“We have all been so careful to be transparent through the entire redistricting process….making sure we understand the implications of where the boundaries are drawn,” Wong said. “In the end, each of us must feel comfortable with the final map to give our support. I’m struggling with those changes. I can’t support that process that was followed on Sunday night.”
Commissioner Brian Stecher appeared to empathize with concerns from the northwest Valley — and even a last-moment attempt to avoid splitting Thai Town — but he was also mindful of the clock essentially running out for the commission.
“I’m very sympathetic,” he said. “But to meet our statutory deadline we have to adopt the map we are confronted with.”
Indeed. The map was set to be adopted on Thursday, accompanied by a report that ended up thousands of pages long, justifying the legal rationale for the effort and documenting the first-of-its-kind process.
“Any time you’re asked to draw 10 million residents into five districts it’s going to be a challenge,” Mayeda said.
And, going forward, therein lies the enduring question for policymakers, the commission, supervisors and scholars: Does the Board of Supervisors need to be expanded? Is five districts sufficient for such a mammoth region?
That query — one that commissioners and others have broached repeatedly, in the final days of this process — will likely be the first sentence in the next chapter of the county’s political story.
As the boundaries arrived, some politicians wasted no time. Late Wednesday, Sen. Henry Stern’s campaign team said he would announce his candidacy Thursday for the District seat 3 being vacated by Kuehl. Stern’s campaign emailed media outlets, informing them that Stern would announce his candidacy in Sherman Oaks.
Stern will be joining a field that also includes West Hollywood Councilwoman Lindsey P. Horvath, Los Angeles City Controller Ron Galperin and Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica. Horvath has been endorsed by Kuehl, Hahn and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, confirmed on Tuesday to the political news website Politico that he is “seriously considering” running for the seat representing the San Fernando Valley and Westside.
As that and other races take shape, the Board of Supervisors will immediately begin working under the new map as Dean Logan, the county’s registrar, will apply the map for voters, candidates and his teams that create the elections and count the votes.
“The independent citizen redistricting commission just made history by being the first people who were not supervisors to redraw the county’s district lines,” said Hahn in a statement.
“This new map will mean big changes. Millions of residents have a new supervisor, and supervisors have new constituents,” Hahn said. “There are going to be challenges, but I have no doubt that my colleagues and I will work to make sure communities get a warm handoff and no projects or issues fall through the cracks during this transition.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
