Redistricting group picks 14 new commissioners

LOS ANGELES — After a lengthy selection process, the Los Angeles County Citizens Redistricting Commission finalized the names of the 14 Commissioners who will be responsible for adjusting the district boundaries for electing the Board of Supervisors, based on the 2020 US Census Bureau data.

The Los Angeles County Registrar- Recorder/ County Clerk received 741 applications by Sept. 8 and narrowed the applicants to a pool of the 60 most qualified names. The Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller conducted a random drawing at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Nov. 24, selecting one commissioner from each of the five existing Supervisorial Districts and three commissioners randomly drawn from the remaining 55 applicants.

The eight randomly selected commissioners met between Dec. 14 and Dec. 28, to select the final six Commissioners from the remaining 52 qualified applicants.

The 2021 CRC Commissioners are:

• Apolonio Morales, Supervisorial District 4, from Whittier.

• Brian Stecher, Supervisorial District 3, from Santa Monica.

• Carolyn Williams, Supervisorial District 2, from Hawthorne.

• Daniel Mayeda, Supervisorial District 2, from Culver City.

• David Holtzman, Supervisorial District 5, from Burbank.

• Doreena Wong, Supervisorial District 3, from Los Angeles.

• Hailes Soto, Supervisorial District 4, from Downey.

• Jean Franklin, Supervisorial District 2, from Long Beach.

• John Vento, Supervisorial District 5, from Palmdale.

• Mark Mendoza, Supervisorial District 5, from La Verne.

• Nelson Obregon, Supervisorial District 1, from Los Angeles.

• Priscilla Segura, Supervisorial District 1, from Los Angeles.

• Priya Sridharan, Supervisorial District 5, from South Pasadena.

• Saira Soto, Supervisorial District 1, from Los Angeles.

The commissioners reflect the County’s diversity: Eight Democrats, two Republicans and four who are either No Party Preference or affiliated with other political parties; six females and eight males, age ranges between 31 and 73; six Latino/Latina, three Asian, three White and two Black representatives.

The CRC is unlike past practices, when the Board of Supervisors appointed an advisory Boundary Redistricting Committee to study proposed changes to the boundaries and could make revisions before adopting the final redistricted boundaries.

The CRC is independent of the Board of Supervisors as a result of the California Legislature Senate Bill 958, which passed in 2016. The CRC’s redistricting efforts follow the Federal Decennial Census and must be completed by Dec. 15. This redistricting can shape a community’s ability to elect the representative of their choice and to:

• Re-balance district populations so they are reasonably equal in population

• Meet the constitutional principal of “one person, one vote”

• Ensure districts are geographically contiguous, taking into account topography, geography, cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity, compactness of territory, and community of interest of the Supervisorial Districts.

During this next year, the CRC will be conducting a series of public hearings and meetings to solicit community input regarding future Supervisorial district boundaries.

The assigned CRC staff are Executive Director Gayla Kraetsch Hartsough, Ph.D., of KH Consulting Group in Los Angeles and Independent Legal Counsel Holly O. Whatley, Esq. of Colantuono, Highsmith & Whatley, PC, in Pasadena.

Visit bos.lacounty.gov for details.