City to Join Those Trying for Census Sampling

In an attempt to ensure that Los Angeles receives its fair share of federal funds, as well as adequate political representation, City Atty. James K. Hahn on Tuesday announced plans for his office to intervene in two federal lawsuits that seek to prohibit statistical sampling in the 2000 census.

When the census was last taken eight years ago, Hahn said, Los Angeles’ residents were significantly undercounted, which resulted in the loss of at least $12 million in federal and state funds and deprived the city of at least one, and possibly two, congressional seats to which it is entitled.

With the aid of the Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Myers--which the city has retained--Hahn said his office will intervene to oppose recent lawsuits filed by House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on behalf of the House of Representatives, and by the Southeastern Legal Foundation of Atlanta, a conservative public interest law firm.

Both suits seek to prohibit the U.S. Census Bureau from employing a counting technique called sampling. That process would enable the agency to use statistical projections to estimate the number of residents hardest to count, such as families living in apartments in predominantly immigrant neighborhoods. Republicans fear that the method would lead to the creation of more “safe” Democratic congressional districts.

“Fairness and accuracy--not partisan politics--should be the ultimate goal of the census,” Hahn said at a news conference. “We’re not interested in partisanship. We need the most accurate count . . . we can get.”

City Councilman Richard Alatorre, who attended the news conference, asked the council Tuesday to approve the city attorney’s legal action and to allocate $100,000 to the effort. The council is expected to vote on that proposal next week.

Although Los Angeles is the first city to announce its planned intervention in the lawsuits, other municipalities are expected to follow.

Maureen Mahoney, a Washington, D.C., partner at the Los Angeles-based Latham & Watkins law firm, which is representing Gingrich, said she is perplexed by Hahn’s plan for the city to take a formal role in the case.

“I don’t understand why the city feels a need to intervene in this,” Mahoney said. “What surprises me is that the city should feel a need to intervene when their position . . . is going to be litigated and defended by the Department of Justice,” the defendant in the case.

Further, she said the case is based on constitutional issues: whether sampling is admissible under the Constitution and under the law.

“The issue here isn’t about policy, it’s about what the law requires,” Mahoney said. “As much as L.A. thinks it would benefit by the use of sampling . . . they have to agree the census has to be conducted according to the Constitution and the law.”

But Hahn and other officials said statistical sampling is the only way to achieve an accurate count of residents, the goal of the census.

“We think that Mr. Hahn and the city of Los Angeles are on the legally and constitutionally correct side,” said Doug Kranwinkle, managing partner of O’Melveny & Myers. “We want to litigate it fully, and we intend to win.”

The two high-powered Los Angeles-based law firms battling over the census sampling issue are well-established, with long ties to the city. Hahn said he was “disappointed” that Latham & Watkins chose to back Gingrich in his efforts, given the firm’s representation of clients that do business with City Hall.

But Mahoney, of Latham & Watkins, said she did not believe that it was “in any way” contrary to the interests of the city of Los Angeles or the public to have the case litigated by her firm.

The Census Bureau estimated that it undercounted Los Angeles residents by 3.8% in 1990, Hahn said. In minority communities, that percentage was even higher: Male Latinos living in rental units were undercounted by 13.5%, and African American men in rental housing were undercounted by 10%, he said.

California as a whole was undercounted by 1 million people.

The impact of undercounting is felt when federal and state funds are allocated on the basis of population.

Alatorre said the city must meet its responsibility to residents in providing the best services it can and that requires enough federal and state funds.

“Sampling should not be an option,” he said. “It should be mandatory. This issue is not about minorities. This issue is not about poor people. This issue is about this city being able to provide all the services to residents.”