Complaints Greet Redistricting Panel

A city commission appointed to redraw the boundaries of Los Angles City Council districts held its first meeting Tuesday, and immediately heard criticism that past plans unfairly split up neighborhoods to protect incumbents.

For example, the current district boundaries, drawn a decade ago, divide Van Nuys among five council districts and do not reflect the interests of that and other communities, said Roy Ulrich, director of the watchdog group California Common Cause. “That is outrageous,” Ulrich said. “[Van Nuys] is a community and it is entitled to respect as a community.”

Ulrich also told the City Council Redistricting Commission that the three districts straddling Mulholland Drive--with parts in the San Fernando Valley and parts in the Los Angeles Basin--should be redrawn on one side or the other.

“The goal in the past was to make sure incumbents got reelected,” Ulrich said.

John Emerson, who worked in the Clinton administration, was elected by the panel to serve as its temporary chairman. He said keeping together recognized neighborhoods should be a goal of the commission.

“Obviously that’s one of the roles of this commission--to carefully consider communities of interest,” Emerson said.

Assistant City Atty. Jessica Heinz said the panel should consider demographic shifts over the last 10 years and draw districts in a way that does not dilute the voting strength of ethnic minorities.

At the same time, courts have held that cities cannot use race as the predominant factor in drawing districts, Heinz warned, saying a balancing act is required.

The 21-member panel has until March 1 to recommend a redistricting plan for the 15-member City Council, which will have final say in the redrawing of the boundaries.

To make sure the input of residents is considered, Emerson said the panel will probably hold at least one public hearing in each of the 15 council districts.