Thoughts on Yolo County redistricting
Many thanks to the Daily Democrat for reporting on the redistricting process, an important part of ensuring that we all have representation and voices in our communities. As rural residents, we have significant needs, including access to safe drinking water, flood control, sheriff and fire protection, road maintenance, broadband access, and transportation for seniors.
We are currently in Supervisor Angel Barajas’ District 5. For representation, each of our 5 districts must have equal numbers of people. With Yolo County’s population at 216,000, that’s 43,000 people per district. A challenge for our rural unincorporated communities, including Zamora, Dunnigan, Knights Landing, Yolo, Madison, Esparto, and the Capay Valley, is that we only have about 15,000 people; we need another 30,000 for a district.
We need to add a city. The question becomes, what city do rural residents most identify with? In Yolo County, there’s Winters, Woodland, Davis, and West Sacramento. We would like to advocate for including the city of Winters in District 5 given that we share many common needs. We also advocate for West Woodland, as this is our community. Our kids go to school here, agricultural businesses and resources are here, and this is where we mainly shop for food and medicine.
The current Supervisor District 5 map excludes Winters; it also includes east Woodland, which is not inclusive of our community. Our kids do not go to school here, there are fewer ag businesses and ag resources in this area, and it is distant from grocery stores and pharmacies. With poor internet service and no newspaper delivery service in our rural area, we rely on community networking and word of mouth to receive information on what is happening in Yolo County, like where to get COVID shots. Community connections are critically important for us.
We hope the redistricting commission will recognize our needs and support our proposed new district lines for Supervisor District 5 that include the city of Winters and west Woodland. This is our community and would ensure we have a voice and representation for rural needs. To participate in and support the redistricting process, please see the Yolo County website.
— Rachael and David Long,
Zamora