Many in county want elected reps serving just their county

According to a recent survey conducted as part of county, state and federal redistricting processes, more than 7,000 San Joaquin County residents want their locally elected representatives in the state Assembly and the U.S. Congress to serve a district encompassing only their county.

The survey, conducted by Critical Data Strategies LLC on behalf of the California Citizen’s Redistricting Commission, was performed online the week of Aug. 9, using a file containing more than 135,000 email addresses belonging to county residents.

A total of 9,715 residents accessed the survey, the company said, with 7,511 completing all nine questions that asked for feedback on community concerns and state and federal representation.

According to survey results, 36.3% of those who completed the survey wanted a U.S. congressional district serving just their county.

San Joaquin County is currently represented in the 9th and 10th congressional districts, with the former containing parts of Alameda and Contra Costa. The 10th District in

cludes San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

The survey found that 20.2% of respondents wanted the to keep congressional districts as they are, and 22.7% wanted the 9th and 10th districts to only encompass San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

Breaking down respondents by city, 477 Lodians favored having just one congressional representative, while 242 wanted to keep districts the way they are.

In addition, 45.4% of county residents want to be represented by just one Assembly member in Sacramento, while 27.7% wanted to keep districts the way they area.

The county is currently represented by the 9th, 12th and 13th State Assembly districts, with Lodi located in the former. The 9th District also includes Galt, Elk Grove, and West Sacramento.

The 12th District includes Lockeford

and the eastern portion of the county, along with Lathrop, Manteca, Ripon, Escalon and northeast Stanislaus County including east Modesto and Turlock.

The 13th District encompasses the western side of the county, including Stockton and Tracy.

Some 569 Lodians favored having the county represented by just one Assembly member, while 352 wanted to keep districts as is, the survey found.

Conversely, 54.7% of county residents wanted to keep the state Senate district as it is, while 13.5% wanted to combine it with another county. Currently, the county is represented by just the 5th District, and no other counties are included.

Of those who favored keeping state Senate district as is, 686 were from Lodi.

Some 31.9% of all respondents said they wanted to be represented by just one district at all levels so they could be treated fairly and so their voice would be heard.

Another 17.8% said they did not want their representative to become

more politically liberal, and 15.3% said they didn’t want their representative to become more politically conservative.

The survey also asked residents what matters most to them in their community, and 65.7% said protecting the Delta and other water issues topped their list.

Preserving or enhancing the county’s agriculture was second at 58.8%, and addressing homelessness was third at 53.7%.

Among Lodians, preserving and enhancing agriculture was a top priority, with 786 respondents stating it was most important. Preserving the Delta tallied 771 top priority marks, while addressing homelessness garnered 579.

During Tuesday’s San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors meeting, Vice Chair Chuck Winn, who represents Ripon and Lodi, said he was impressed with the survey’s response.

He and Supervisor Robert Rickman represent the county on the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.

“One of the things we’ve really

harped on is that this is apolitical, or nonpartisan,” Winn said. “This isn’t about ‘Ds’ and ‘Rs,’ period. There were two questions in regard to conservative or liberal ... but the reality is we will stay away from the politics of it, because what we’re really looking at is the issues.”

Both he and Rickman, who represents Tracy, said the commission was on the right path in terms of outreach.

Rickman added that it was amazing more than 7,000 residents responded, as the commission was only expecting 1,500 to do so.

“It was great to see citizens engaged,” he said. “I would ask our residents to please get involved. This is once every 10 years, and it affects us all and makes sure that what we’re doing at the state and federal level is fair, and adequately represents San Joaquin County as a whole.”

To view the complete survey and its results, visit www.sjgov.link/redistricting-survey.