COUNTYWIDE : Latino Panel Airs Plan for Redistricting

The Hispanic Committee for Redistricting on Wednesday unveiled a proposed map to rearrange the county’s supervisorial districts, creating a new district made up of three adjoining central cities with a 51% Latino population.

Ruben A. Smith, an attorney and member of the committee, said the group doesn’t want people to be misled as to its goals. “We are not saying that we want another Hispanic (on the Board of Supervisors),” he said. “We are saying we want to draw lines where whoever is elected, whether Hispanic or non-Hispanic, is accountable to that community.”

But Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, whose 1st District would be most affected if the proposal is adopted, was angered, saying it included a “double standard,” splitting up the Asian community to put together a predominantly Latino district.

“I told them the other night that this wouldn’t fly,” Stanton said. “If I don’t support it, there won’t be any votes on the board.”

Stanton questioned whether Smith and the redistricting committee were putting together a confrontational plan to litigate in the courts.

The proposed map will be presented today to a county task force, which will make final recommendations to the Board of Supervisors for the once-in-a-decade process of redistricting. The process must be completed by Nov. 1.

In addition to the Latino redistricting plan, proposals by the five county supervisors and others seeking greater representation at the county level will be considered. The supervisors will make the final decision on how the district map will look, but their decision, such as was the case in Los Angeles, could be challenged in court for violating the federal Voting Rights Act.

After months of meeting and hours of computer time, the Latino committee carved out a district that includes Santa Ana, Garden Grove and Stanton.

Santa Ana, which is 65% Latino, has the highest percentage of Latinos of any major city in the United States.

“One of the reasons we drew the lines the way we did in keeping cities intact is because we felt cities with similar interests should be represented by the same supervisor,” Smith said.

Another committee member, John M. Raya, said supervisors may not always have a direct impact on incorporated cities, but they can direct federal and state resources into the areas that are controlled by municipal governments.

The members said there is no hidden political agenda in the plan because it is not designed to “attack or get rid” of any existing supervisor.

Smith said the effort was bipartisan.

“We have been asked to put together a plan that we feel would be best from the Hispanic perspective,” he said.

Some attempted to sidetrack the committee by saying that there was already one Latino supervisor, Raya said, referring to Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez.

Raya noted that Vasquez was elected from a district that is not predominantly Latino. The Hispanic committee plan would allow election of a supervisor that would be responsible for representing an area that has a substantial Latino population, he added.