Next time, Fresno County citizens must draw political boundaries, not elected officials

The dust has settled from last year’s arduous redistricting efforts in Fresno County and statewide. New boundaries have been set for elected offices and the lines will be in place for this year’s primary and general elections.

In fact, those lines will remain in place for the next decade, which is when the Census will again be taken and new population shifts will be noted.

But a key change must occur in the redistricting process in Fresno County to ensure fair representation and wash away the suspicion and mistrust that resulted from this last round: The Legislature must require that every county have independent redistricting commissions to draw the boundaries for officials like county supervisors.

Four of Fresno County’s supervisors — Nathan Magsig, Buddy Mendes, Brian Pacheco and Steve Brandau — were rightly criticized by citizens and community group members for adopting a map that did not adequately represent the county’s changing demographics.

Instead, they adopted district boundaries that essentially held to what has been in place for the last 10 years.

Criticism came from many quarters. Latino activists said their community will not get the voting power it deserves from its status as Fresno County’s leading racial group — 54% of county residents are Hispanic. That compares with whites, which are 28.6% of the population.

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The League of Women Voters thought the process had numerous flaws — from the formation of an advisory commission that was top-heavy with conservatives to how public comments were recorded.

A speaker at one of the board meetings leading up to adoption put it succinctly: “If you guys continue to keep the maps the way they are, you’re not representing anybody but yourselves.”

Independent group needed

The surest solution is to require that every county appoint independent redistricting commissions that include representatives of all demographic groups.

It’s not a perfect system, but it’s more equitable than what took place Fresno County and elsewhere.

Redistricting was especially heated in San Luis Obispo County, where a lawsuit has been filed challenging the map picked by the conservative three-member majority. There was major opposition to redistricting decisions in Butte, Santa Cruz and Riverside counties as well.

In explaining his vote in favor of the adopted map, Fresno County’s Magsig said that the people “have voted to elect us to make these decisions.”

Actually, letting politicians redraw their own district boundaries makes no sense. It allows whatever political party is in power at the time to manipulate the map to favor their own candidates. It is a gross conflict of interest, and yet it’s perfectly legal.

At least the state of California has moved away from that model.

Thanks to voters, state lawmakers no longer set the boundaries of their own districts. A Citizens Redistricting Commission now redraws the lines for state Senate and Assembly districts and for U.S. congressional districts. The 14-member commission is made up of five Republicans, five Democrats and four unaffiliated voters.

Newsom missed a chance

A state law passed in 2019 would have required counties with more than 400,000 residents to appoint redistricting commissions as well, but Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it. He maintained that it could be a burden on the state budget. And he noted that counties could voluntarily appoint redistricting commissions or advisory committees.

That was a horrible call by Newsom. The state shouldn’t scrimp on ensuring the integrity of local elections. Nor should it rely on voluntary compliance. In this hyperpartisan climate, even at local levels some politicians will stop at nothing to hang on to power.

Last year, only a handful of counties opted to appoint independent commissions to redraw lines, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Barbara. Others, like Fresno, appointed advisory committees to take public testimony and make recommendations.

But even if a fair-and-balanced advisory committee had been appointed, there’s no guarantee the board majority would have agreed to its recommendations.

No, the only way to ensure the process is as equitable as possible is to take it completely out of the hands of the elected officials.

State lawmakers should revive efforts to make redistricting mandatory, only this time it should not be limited to counties with more than 400,000 residents.

Also, county supervisors should commit to voluntarily surrendering the power to redraw their own districts, should a statewide effort fail.

The time to act is now. If we wait four or five years to demand reform, that almost guarantees that nothing will change.

Elections are coming, giving us an opportunity to find out whether candidates are willing to abandon a system that is undermining our democracy.

If they aren’t, they don’t deserve, and should not receive, our support.

The San Luis Obispo Tribune Editorial Board contributed to this report.