A Likely Match-up : How Council ‘War’ Shapes Up

The two maps show Los Angeles City Council district boundary lines that have resulted in a federal court lawsuit against the city and, officials hope, may get them out of it.

The Justice Department and other plaintiffs charged that the 1982 redistricting plan, approved by the council and Mayor Tom Bradley, violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting strength of Latinos.

In an effort to settle the case, the City Council agreed to redraw the lines to create a second predominantly Latino council district. The result, which received preliminary approval in a 13-2 council vote Wednesday, combines the power bases of incumbents John Ferraro and Michael Woo into one district, the 4th, and sets up a likely election contest next year between the two.

The 13th district, currently represented by Woo, would be 69% Latino, making it the second predominantly Latino area.

The tentatively sanctioned plan is expected to win the council’s formal approval next Wednesday and then will be sent to Bradley for his consideration.

If Bradley approves it, the plan will be filed in federal court. The Justice Department and other plaintiffs will have 15 days to file legal challenges.

HOW THE COMPROMISE DISTRICTS COMPARE

How the newly voted City Council districts compare with current districts. Figures are rounded to the nearest percentage point.

Dist. Population %Non-Latino White % Latino % Black Asi Current New Current New Current New Current 1 198,121 51% 47% 36% 40% 8% 8% 3% 2 197,499 68% 72% 24% 19% 2% 2% 5% 3 198,017 83% 83% 11% 11% 1% 1% 3% 4 198,583 34% 56% 40% 22% 6% 6% 18% 5 198,726 78% 81% 8% 9% 8% 4% 5% 6 196,394 45% 45% 16% 16% 33% 33% 5% 7 197,059 63% 67% 27% 23% 3% 3% 5% 8 196,867 6% 6% 18% 21% 74% 67% 2% 9 196,441 6% 6% 40% 36% 50% 56% 4% 10 198,843 11% 16% 38% 26% 38% 43% 13% 11 199,536 85% 85% 7% 7% 1% 1% 5% 12 199,139 83% 83% 9% 9% 2% 2% 5% 13 197,285 51% 14% 31% 69% 4% 2% 12% 14 196,783 17% 21% 73% 69% 1% 2% 8% 15 197,561 35% 35% 34% 34% 24% 24% 6%

Dist.an New 1 3% 2 6% 3 3% 4 13% 5 5% 6 5% 7 5% 8 5% 9 2% 10 14% 11 5% 12 5% 13 14% 14 7% 15 6%