Drawing the Lines: County Redistricting Panel to Meet in La Mesa on Monday

Supervisors will make the final decision on how district boundaries are drawn, but a committee picked by the county’s five elected leaders will hear from the public Monday in La Mesa on where the lines should be.

The recently released 2010 census gives the public ammunition for suggestions on how to redraw supervisorial districts—required every 10 years.

The hearing for District 2 residents—which includes La Mesa, Mount Helix, Spring Valley, Lemon Grove, Santee and Poway—is at 6 p.m. Monday, April 25, at the La Mesa City Council chambers, 8130 Allison Ave.

At least one public meeting of the Redistricting Advisory Committee is scheduled for each of the five districts. Deanna Weeks is the East County member of the committee, named by Supervisor Dianne Jacob.

Weeks is former president and CEO of the East County Economic Development Council and a recently retired member of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District governing board.

Other panel members are Dennis Ridz, Andrea Skorepa, Michel Anderson and Adam Day.

State law mandates that the county Board of Supervisors adjusts the district boundaries every 10 years so that each district reflects any changes in population. Changes may alter the district in which a resident lives, thereby altering a resident’s supervisor.

The committee is tasked with preparing a report for the board that will include up to three proposed redistricting plans. The board then reviews the plans at its own public hearing and an adopted plan is expected to be effective in early September.

The public can submit plans as electronic files through May 9. The plans will be published online and submitted to the advisory committee for consideration.

But unlike the state’s independent redistricting commission, the county’s is made up of five people chosen by the supervisors—one per district. And the process has its critics.

Mike Aguirre, former San Diego city attorney, has been quoted as saying: “In Sacramento the Democrats redistricted in a way that was undemocratic. In San Diego County, the Republicans have done the same thing. ... The staff is going to get directed by the supervisors unless you stop it.”

In 2001, he said, “the plan was completely disregarded,” alleging that supervisors held secret meetings during the redistricting process.

Jacob’s 2nd District, more than 2,000 square miles, is the largest of the five, she says on her website, and has more than 535,000 constituents. Jacob, a Helix High School graduate in the 1950s, is in her fifth term as supervisor.

In late 2009, La Mesa Councilman Dave Allan reportedly considered a 2012 race against Jacob for 2nd District supervisor but opted again a challenge.

The following ZIP codes are within the 2nd District: 91901, 91905, 91906, 91916, 91917, 92019, 92020, 92021, 92022, 91931, 91934, 91935, 92036, 91941, 91942, 92040, 91945, 91948, 91962, 91963, 92064, 92065, 92071, 91978, 91980.

These ZIP codes are partially within Jacob’s district: 92120, 92004, 92115, 92119, 92070, 91977.

Monday’s agenda is attached to this article as a PDF file.