San Diego’s Remap Fight Ends With Judge’s Order

The city’s bitter redistricting fight came to an end in federal court Thursday, when a judge signed an order making final the compromise remap settlement worked out by a slim City Council majority.

U.S. District Judge John S. Rhoades signed an order approving the settlement, which included new boundaries that supporters say will make it easier for a Latino to be elected to the council in District 8. The district’s redrawn boundary was made permanent by the order.

District 8, which stretches from downtown to the South Bay, has a 53.8% Latino population under the redistricting. No Latino has been elected to the San Diego City Council this century; they have all been appointed.

Rhoades’ order also solidified the boundary for District 4, which includes a heavy concentration of black voters. District 4 is now represented by Councilman Wes Pratt, the only black on the council.

Attorney Michael Aguirre, who filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Chicano Federation in March 1988 that led to the settlement, called the order “the beginning of a new era.”

“This means that a minority candidate will have a real opportunity to get elected out of District 8,” Aguirre said. “For the first time, Latinos will be able to have a voice in the City Council. The Latino community will now have a chance to participate meaningfully in the democratic process in San Diego.”

The order was a defeat for Mayor Maureen O’Connor, who sided with a council minority that included Judy McCarty, Bruce Henderson and Ron Roberts in opposing the settlement. Although O’Connor and the other council members did not object to the redrawn boundaries for Districts 4 and 8, they argued that the new boundaries for the other six districts amounted to gerrymandering and were designed to punish council members who opposed the compromise plan.

In a 10-page order, Rhoades dismissed the opponents’ objections as nothing more than a political disagreement and wrote that “the question of alleged gerrymandering shall be left to the political processes.”

O’Connor also accused the majority that helped redraw the district boundaries of doing it in secret, in apparent violation of the state’s open-meeting law. Council members who made up the five-member majority were Bob Filner, Linda Bernhardt, Wes Pratt, John Hartley and Abbe Wolfsheimer.

O’Connor is in Europe and could not be reached for comment. However, her attorney, Donald McGrath said the mayor was pleased with the order as it related to Districts 4 and 8. “This is a great victory for Chicanos, and the mayor is very pleased,” said McGrath.

Rhoades’ order makes permanent the boundaries for Districts 4 and 8 but leaves open the door for future legal challenges in state court to the boundaries for the remaining six districts. He said that a lawsuit filed in federal court by Henderson’s lawyer on behalf of four residents revolves around issues relating to state law.

He scheduled a hearing for Dec. 14 to listen to arguments on why the lawsuit should not be sent to Superior Court. The lawsuit and other objections against the settlement “raise no clear federal constitutional or statutory issues,” wrote Rhoades.

McGrath said that O’Connor welcomes the possibility of legal challenges to the other district boundaries and added that she agrees that this matter should be resolved in state court.

“It’s good the federal imprimatur is only on (Districts) 4 and 8 and that the rest was left to the jurisdiction of state law,” said McGrath.

District 8 is represented by Councilman Bob Filner, who was a member of the five-member majority on the council that approved the settlement. Filner, who ended up supporting the plan after first opposing it, expressed relief Thursday that the redistricting issue appears to be settled and said he plans to run for reelection.

“I am glad we know what our (boundary) lines are now. We can get on with city business,” said Filner. “My intention is to run for reelection. I’ve been responsive to the community and will ask for their endorsement.”

Despite Rhoades’ order, Filner predicted that Henderson and other council members who opposed the settlement “will still be obstructionists.”

Henderson had not seen the order and was not available for comment, said aide James Sills.

Aguirre, who ran unsuccessfully against Filner in 1987, reacted with dismay to Filner’s plan to seek reelection. Aguirre, who said he does not intend to run again, called Filner “a spoiler” who continuously frustrated efforts to work out a compromise redistricting settlement.

“Filner did so many things to frustrate us arriving at this map,” said Aguirre, who nevertheless grudgingly acknowledged Filner’s ultimate support for the settlement.

“Notwithstanding all the progress that was made, he was known as a person who frustrated the Latino community getting a voice in the council,” Aguirre added.

Filner reacted with aplomb to Aguirre’s comments.

“I’m the elected councilman. I’m the man who defeated Aguirre in the primary and in the general elections. I won because I was seen as better qualified. I intend to put my record in front of the voters again. . . . I’m proud of my record and responsiveness, and can serve all members of my district,” said Filner.

In signing the order, Rhoades also shot down an O’Connor argument that the settlement he approved is invalid because, as mayor, she never signed the compromise.

“This contention ignores the fact that the city, as any municipal corporation, is governed by majority rule, and her signature is but a ministerial act,” wrote Rhoades. “. . . If the mayor refuses to sign the modified agreement, the agreement should be signed by another representative of the city.”

Pratt, who said the redistricting debate bitterly divided the council, urged O’Connor and Henderson, the two biggest council opponents to the settlement, to “put this thing behind them.”

“The order means that the action taken by the majority was constitutional and legal. I don’t know what the mayor and Henderson will do, but any effort to tear it down would be a waste of time and energy,” said Pratt.