Democrats Propose 2 Plans to Reshape Congress Districts

Two reapportionment plans that could significantly reshape the boundaries of Ventura County’s two congressional districts were proposed Wednesday by California congressional Democrats.

The new plans bring to three the number of Democratic proposals for redrawing districts to reflect changes in population documented by the U.S. Census.

One of the proposals released Wednesday would eliminate Port Hueneme from the 21st District of U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and add to his district the northern half of Ventura County between Ojai and the Kern County border.

The plan would add Port Hueneme to the 19th District of Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura), while removing the Ventura County areas north of Ojai.

Under the plan, Lagomarsino’s district would have 572,306 people, 45% of whom are registered Democrats and 40% Republicans, with the remainder undeclared.

Gallegly’s district would have 572,315 residents, 51% of whom are registered Republicans and 37% Democrats, with the remainder undeclared.

The second proposal offered Wednesday by congressional Democrats would carve a new district out of Lagomarsino’s and Gallegly’s existing districts.

Boundaries of the second proposal were not released. Instead, representatives provided only a statistical analysis of the district’s 572,311 residents.

The new district would include 325,986 people from Ventura County and 246,325 people from Santa Barbara County. About 46% of the voters in the proposed new district would be registered Democrats and 39% would be Republicans.

On Tuesday, Democrats in Congress offered a plan that would also draw a new congressional district that would include the coastal areas of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

State Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), who narrowly lost in a 1988 bid for a congressional seat against Lagomarsino, is seen as having a good chance of winning in that proposed district because the boundaries are similar to those of his state Senate district.

The new district boundaries must be approved by the Legislature before they are signed into law by Gov. Pete Wilson. If Wilson rejects the boundary changes, the entire matter will be decided in court.

In an interview Wednesday, Gallegly said it is still too early to speculate which of the plans will be adopted. “Everything is all over the board right now,” he said.