South Bay First Thursdays Shoutouts

Every ten years, the voting lines in California are redrawn to evenly divide the voting districts based on the latest census data.  How the lines are drawn can determine who will run for office and who will win, and whether communities are kept together or split unfairly.  In the past, the State Legislature has drawn the district maps for the State Senate, Assembly, and Board of Equalization.  Because of Proposition 11, a 14-person citizens commission will be in charge of redistricting in 2011.  The application process for the commission begins December 15, 2009 and will be open until February 12, 2010.

The commission will hold public hearings throughout California, evaluate relevant materials, and eventually draw the new district maps.  The commission may hire staff and consultants in order to support its work.

Commissioners will serve until 2020; however, the vast majority of the commission’s work will occur from January to September 2011 since the district maps must be completed by September 15, 2011.  From January 2011 until the adoption of the maps, the commissioners may spend 10-40 hours a week or more on their responsibilities.  The commissioners are paid $300 per day plus expenses when doing commission business.

To apply for the commission, applicants must fill out an online form.  The form can be found at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov and is due by February 12, 2010.  The Asian Law Alliance (ALA) will conduct the following application workshop:

Date:  Saturday, January 23, 2010, from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm

Location:         Yu-Ai Kai

588 North Fourth Street, Room 300

San Jose, CA 95112

To RSVP:        Jacquelyn Maruhashi, alacensus@aol.com or (408) 287-9710

After the application period is over, the 14 commissioners will be selected in a multi-step process that is supervised by the California State Auditor.  A panel of three government auditors will review the applications and select 120 applicants for interviews.  The panel will then choose a final list of 60 applicants from which eight commissioners are randomly chosen.  These eight commissioners will then pick the remaining six commissioners.

The commission members will be appointed by December 31, 2010.  The commission will be made of five registered Democrats, five registered Republicans, and four individuals who are either decline-to-state or registered with a third party.

To serve on the commission, an individual must be a registered voter in California for at least the last five years with the same party (or non-party) affiliation; have voted in at least two of the last three statewide general elections; and have relevant analytical skills, be impartial, and appreciate California’s diversity.

An applicant will be disqualified if, within the past ten years, he/she or a member of his/her immediate family has been in or a candidate for federal or state office; been appointed as a member of a political party central committee; served as a paid congressional, legislative, or Board of Equalization staff; been a registered lobbyist; or contributed $2,000 or more to any congressional, state, or local candidate in a year.

For more information about the commission or the workshops, call Asian Law Alliance at (408) 287-9710 or visit http://www.tinyurl.com/capafr2011.  Also, the California State Auditor has information translated in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese posted on its website at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov/toolkit.html.

The Rose Institute just published two useful graphs on the applicants for redistricting.

Total Numbers of Applicants by Race in Pie Chart:

http://rosereport.org/commission-stats/

Each County’s registered voters who have applied for the commission overlaid map of California :

http://rosereport.org/20100106/sacramento-area-most-likely-to-apply-for-commission/