Golding Wants Public Participation in Remap

San Diego County Supervisor Susan Golding, saying that the county’s politically sensitive reapportionment process must be more open to community and ethnic group concerns, is proposing the appointment of an 11-member citizens panel to advise county staffers who are drawing the redistricting maps.

Golding called on the board to appoint the advisory panel and allow it to develop alternatives to the six redistricting maps drawn by Chief Administrative Officer Norman Hickey’s staff.

“I believe the citizens deserve a forum of their own to work with the various communities in developing alternative maps to those the Chief Administrative Officer has developed,” Golding wrote in a letter to the Board of Supervisors. “The community deserves an equal role in developing alternatives for the board to consider.”

The proposed change of course, which also includes a recommendation that the county hire the Rose Institute of Claremont to provide technical knowledge, comes four months after the supervisors unanimously agreed to let Hickey’s office handle the reapportionment.

Golding’s letter to her colleagues, dated July 9, when the board will convene again, also comes just weeks before the supervisors are scheduled to begin reviewing Hickey’s six maps after 10 public hearings on the redistricting. The maps may be further revised as a result of the second round of hearings, which concluded June 26.

The supervisors must reapportion the five supervisorial districts by Oct. 1 to reflect results of the decennial census. One major task they face is reducing Supervisor John MacDonald’s North County district by 100,000 people.

“Realistically, a citizens’ advisory group is going to be able to give more time to (reapportionment),” Golding said Monday. “I’m concerned there will be citizens and interest groups who complain that they haven’t had a fair shot.”

Jess Haro, chairman of the Chicano Federation’s Redistricting Committee, and Gil Ontai, president of the Asian Business Assn., praised Golding’s effort to allow ethnic groups more access to the redistricting process.

Both organizations have submitted proposed reapportionment plans to Hickey’s office in attempts to maximize the voting power of their respective ethnic groups. The Chicano Federation map would, in fact, create a district that is populated by a bare majority of Latinos.

“It sounds on the surface like a good thing to do,” Ontai said. “But I’m concerned that it’s coming out so late. I don’t know the motives, and I don’t know the background.”

Haro contended that county staff members don’t dare develop a map that consolidates Latinos and reflects their voting power because that plan would move some of their bosses, the supervisors, out of their current districts. In its plan, the Chicano Federation proposes removing Supervisors Brian Bilbray and Leon Williams from their 1st and 4th districts, respectively.

“Staff is ignoring the public,” he said. “They’re trying to finesse this thing and come up with something that the supervisors are going to be happy with.”

Bilbray and Williams, however, are so far satisfied with the existing process.

“We’re in the middle of a process where the board clearly gave direction to (Hickey),” said Don Abel, Williams’ chief of staff. “That process is not complete yet.”

Bilbray said “the best argument against (Golding’s proposal) is that it looks too much like the way the city of San Diego handled their redistricting.” The city’s reapportionment erupted into a vicious battle between two warring council factions that was settled only after costly litigation in federal and state courts.

Golding is proposing that MacDonald, the current board chairman, appoint three members of the advisory panel. The other four supervisors would appoint two members each.

Golding said she does not know where the county, which faces at least a $29-million deficit for the fiscal year that began Monday, will find the money to hire the Rose Institute. A traditional foe of awarding contracts that do not include competitive bidding, Golding said that time constraints require a “sole-source” contract in this case, but that other consultants could be considered.

“If we don’t do this right, it’s going to cost us more money,” Golding said. “If we don’t do this right, someone’s going to sue.”