In the lead up to final redistricting maps being sent to the Secretary of State, the California Supreme Court has denied a writ alleging that non-public meetings among California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) members and partisan policymakers had become part of the redistricting process.
The CRC was happy with the court's decision on the allegations of wrongdoing, Fredy Ceja, CRC communications director, said in an email response to the Northern California Record.
“The Commission has gone out of its way to deliberate and make decisions in the open, like the Voters First Act intended this process to take place,” Ceja said.
A case summary was not included in the disposition released roughly two weeks before final maps are due for completion.
Michael Columbo, senior counsel with Dhillon Law Group, which filed the petition on behalf of Lisa Moreno and four other voters, said the final maps will be closely scrutinized.
“We are disappointed that the Supreme Court denied the petition, and are concerned the next Commission will be emboldened to commit more egregious violations,” Columbo told the Record by email. “The petition demonstrated the Commission’s approach to the law, which may yet produce additional opportunities in the months ahead for the public to seek relief from the courts.”
Columbo noted the case should bring more awareness to how the maps are drawn.
“Commission records quoted in our case and submitted for the record show commissioners have had meetings with special interest groups about redistricting outside of their public meetings, in addition to hiding a secret voter analysis from the public and relying on partisan counsel with strong ties to the Legislature,” Columbo said. “The Citizens Redistricting Commission was created by the people of California through a popular vote to wrest control of redistricting from the hands of the Legislature, fearing they would manipulate voting maps to serve their interest instead of the public interest. To prevent backroom deals that would subvert the public interest, the voters also enacted a transparency law requiring the Commission to limit communication with outside parties about redistricting to public hearings. Though we hoped for a different result, it hopefully raised the public’s awareness of their right to an independent and transparent redistricting commission.”
The CRC is comprised of five Democrats, five Republicans and four members who are registered as No Party Preference. They are tasked with redrawing district maps with equal population distribution for Congressional, state Legislature, and Board of Equalization districts, which oversee county assessment policies.
“All fourteen members of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission remain fully committed to completing their assigned tasks with transparency, integrity, and maximum opportunities for public input, in a shared spirit of service to the people of California, CRC Chair J. Ray Kennedy posted after the court ruling.
“We invite all those who are interested in the redistricting process to visit our website for a wealth of information on our work and for links to our remaining live meetings," Kennedy said.
The CRC was established by the 2008 Voters First Act.
“There is a sordid history to redistricting practices, in which one party or incumbents would use the process to favor their interests over the public interest,” Columbo said. “Redistricting can control who you are able to vote for, and which community you vote with. The consequences for our state’s democracy and the public interest cannot be overstated.”
Columbo noted they have already seen complaints about a proposal in which San Jose is dissected, preventing it from having even one city-centered representative district, and voters in San Luis Obispo being grouped with inland region instead of similar coastal areas.
“One of the chief values of democracy is that those empowered to make the laws and decide how the state’s funds and resources will be used ultimately represent a community and, through elections, are accountable for serving that community’s interests,” Columbo said. “Manipulated maps producing elected leaders who do not represent cohesive communities both leaves communities without an effective representative and frees the elected official from a community’s democratic pressure that is the essence of democracy. And if a representative is not serving a community’s interest, whose interest are they serving?”
California’s statewide primary election is scheduled for June 7, 2022.