Redistricting means minor changes for District 2

By Joe Naiman

Redistricting boundaries county supervisors approved on Tuesday contain minor changes for District 2.

Ramona is among communities in District 2, represented by Supervisor Dianne Jacob. The new District 2 has a 2010 census population of 620,881, a deviation of 0.29 percent from the target district population of 619,063.

The boundary changes to District 2 involve transferring San Pasqual to District 5, receiving part of Lemon Grove from District 4, exchanging parts of Poway with District 3, transferring parts of the Escondido area to districts 3 and 5, transferring City of San Diego census tracts in the College Area to District 4, and moving Navajo census tracts in the City of San Diego to District 3.

The 2010 census produced a county population of 3.1 million, and the supervisors created a Redistricting Advisory Committee to hear public input and produce proposed district maps. The supervisors conducted a hearing June 28 and directed county staff to prepare an ordinance based on a Redistricting Advisory Committee proposed plan.

The American Civil Liberties Union claimed that the Redistricting Advisory Committee’s initial plan violated the Voting Rights Act because it did not create a district in which Hispanics and African-Americans constituted a majority of the voting-age population.

The committee plan included a 48.96 percent designated minority voting-age population in District 1, which would have been 40.96 percent Hispanic and 7.70 percent African-American. When Asian-Americans were included, the minority population of District 1 would have been 59 percent.

In early August county staff reported that committee’s plan was legally defensible, but the supervisors directed the creation of a “majority-minority” district while preserving most of the advisory committee’s plan. County staff developed two maps that adjusted district 1 and 4 with both maps primarily moving parts of East San Diego and Southeast San Diego and one alternative switching parts of Point Loma and Downtown San Diego. The map affecting only East San Diego and Southeast San Diego split the Emerald Hills and Valencia Park communities, and a revised map to unify those communities into a single district was the one approved by the county supervisors. That map has a 51.84 percent Hispanic and African-American voting-age population in District 1.

“The Asian-American community is a significant community of interest,” said District 4 Supervisor Ron Roberts. “We’re way over 51 percent.”

The county’s Asian population increased by 77 percent between the 1990 census and the 2010 census, and the Latino population increased by 94 percent.

“I think we had a very fair and open consideration of redistricting,” Horn said.