COUNTY REDISTRICTING MAP IN FLUX

Commission meets today to review last-minute changes to boundaries

The San Diego Independent Redistricting Commission will consider some 11th-hour changes to new county boundaries at a meeting this morning, just days before it must submit a final map to the California Secretary of State.

Today’s meeting, to be held virtually, is a continuation of a packed public meeting Thursday that extended into the early hours of Friday morning.

Commissioners were originally set to approve a final draft map that would establish a majority Latino voting district in south San Diego, along with districts on the coast, in central San Diego and in North County and East County.

However, more than 100 speakers addressed the commission with concerns about the placement of the city of El Cajon, the communities of Spring Valley and Paradise Hills, and other areas.

Scores of Chaldean activists from El Cajon argued that their conservative, Iraqi Christian community belongs in District 2, which includes most of East County and is represented by Supervisor Joel Anderson.

Some speakers said different groups of El Cajon residents, including Arab Muslims, Afghan refugees and others, prefer to be in District 4, which includes La Mesa, Lemon Grove and parts of central San Diego, and is represented by

Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher.

A number of speakers also argued that the communities of Spring Valley and Paradise Hills, which have larger numbers of Black residents and other people of color, belong in District 4, instead of being grouped with rural backcountry areas in District 2.

As it approaches its deadline to submit the final map, the commission must thread the needle between answering community concerns and complying with complex

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rules that include creating districts with equal populations, protecting minority voting rights and preserving communities of interest: places with shared economic, geographic and cultural interests.

One proposal the commission will consider today would swap El Cajon for the neighborhoods of Spring Valley and Paradise Hills, placing the former in the eastern District 2 and the latter two in central District 4.

Another would also move

El Cajon from District 4 to District 2 but trade it for the central San Diego neighborhoods of Tierrasanta and Kearny Mesa.

A different option would add Spring Valley and Paradise Hills to District 4 and make a complex series of adjustments to Districts 1, 2 and 3 to accommodate that change.

You can tune into the meeting here: www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/ east-county/story/2021-1207/el-cajon-rallies-againstplanned-redistricting-map