Lompoc, like all other cities, counties and states may have to adjust City Council districts based on the 2020 Census. Lompoc has four council districts, and the geographic boundaries of these districts could change if the City Council chooses to do so.
On Nov. 2 the council received an informational briefing from the consulting firm hired to facilitate any changes to the current districts.
The 2020 Census demonstrates a modest out of balance condition; one district has 400 more people than any other district, but will changes need to be made?
The consultant explained that if the total population deviation of the combined four districts was 10 percent or more, then adjustments would be required. However, the official census established that there was only a little over 6% of deviation, so no changes are required.
Even though the consultant said specifically that Federal Voting Rights Act specifies that there be “No Racial Gerrymandering,” state law dilutes this requirement saying the redistricting plan must “Identify neighborhoods and communities of interest” and keep them together.
Part of the initial study effort was to “Report on official demographics data (the study of a population-based on factors such as age, race, and sex) for the existing city council districts.”
The fifth slide of their presentation provides “current plan demographics” for Hispanic, white, black and Asian/Pacific Islander populations. By definition, that’s dividing the community into racial categories for the council to use as a guide to determining voting districts.
Even though Federal Voting Rights Act specifies that “No Racial Gerrymandering” shall occur, the consultant was suggesting that one district could be “adjusted” to allow for a second district with a majority population of Hispanic voters.
US Legal.com states: “Racial gerrymandering is the deliberate and arbitrary distortion of district boundaries for racial purposes.” But the consultant seemed to suggest the council could “work around” (A.K.A. simply ignore) this requirement.
He also said he was “working with the City Attorney.” I hope the council’s attorney will not allow this unnecessary change to occur because that sounds a lot like racial gerrymandering to me.
Since this was only a presentation, the council made no decisions, and the public did not have a chance to comment on what was presented. There are several other opportunities for public input, and everyone is invited to submit their own draft maps by Jan. 15. After that, there are two public hearings on Feb. 2 and Feb. 16 that are scheduled to vet all comments.
Final adoption of any changes will be completed at the first council meeting in March.
I realize the purpose of these exercises is supposed to be to allow for greater “political clout” for so-called “minority groups.” But the reality is that simply drawing lines on a map that theoretically accomplish this goal doesn’t seem to work very well.
For example, in Lompoc the district that has the greatest Hispanic population had the lowest voter turnout in the first election after the district was formed.
The city of Lompoc previously had a policy of at-large, non-partisan elections for the election of the mayor and council members. This process served the community well for many decades, and allowed for equal representation of all voters. Hispanic candidates have run for and been elected to office using this model.
In fact, the current representative for the one district with the largest Hispanic voting population was elected in an at-large election, and again by a 2-1 margin after his current district was formed.
I certainly hope any decision to adjust district boundaries isn’t made based on racial considerations, but based on total population as was originally intended.
— Ron Fink, a Lompoc resident since 1975, is retired from the aerospace industry. He has been following Lompoc politics since 1992, and after serving for 23 years appointed to various Lompoc commissions, retired from public service. The opinions expressed are his own.
