Malibu City Leaders Oppose Proposals for County Redistricting

Two of the three proposals for redistricting that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider next week could harm Malibu and its ability to collaborate with other municipalities on traffic safety, the environment and other issues, some city leaders say. The board will weigh the three proposals at its meeting Tuesday in downtown Los Angeles.

Mayor John Sibert, Mayor Pro Tem Laura Rosenthal and City Council member Lou La Monte plan to attend the hearing. If there is enough interest, the city might rent a van to transport Malibu residents. Contact Jim Thorsen at 310-456-2489 ext. 226 if you are interested.

"Whatever we can do to keep it as close to what we have makes the most sense to me," La Monte said.

The two proposals that bother Malibu city leaders come from Supervisors Gloria Molina and Mark Ridley-Thomas. These proposals would separate Malibu from many of its longtime partners and join the city with other areas that do not neccesarily have the same issues. 

Although they are separate plans, both have the goal of creating a second district with a majority Latino population. They say this is needed for the county to be consistent with the federal Voting Rights Act. Latinos make up 47.7 percent of the county's population, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

A third proposal from Supervisor Don Knabe involves changes, but mostly keeps the status quo. Redistricting is required every decade based on the results of the U.S. Census.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes Malibu, is opposed to Molina and Ridley-Thomas' proposals. In a blog on his website, he called the proposals "a baldfaced gerrymander that is completely unnecessary." He wrote that the existing districts do not violate the Voting Rights Act.

Ridley-Thomas' proposal, known as S2 or the "Community Empowerment Plan," would eliminate the north and central San Fernando Valley from Yaroslavsky's district, but include an added stretch down the coast to include the South Bay and Long Beach. This extension would add one third of the county's population, 3.5 million residents, into the district.

The larger constituency, La Monte said, could actually weaken the district because the various municipalities do not share the same issues. It could also break down relationships with existing neighbors on issues involving traffic safety, the environment and other matters.

"To keep the foothills and the Santa Monica Mountains in one supervisory district makes the most sense," La Monte said. "The problems and solutions to Malibu's issues with the ocean are not the same as Long Beach's."

Joel Bellman, Yaroslavsky's press deputy, told Malibu Patch, "These communities [in Yaroslavsky's district] generally represent some unifying concerns and policy questions that argue for keeping them together in one cohesive district. The [current] district makes geographic and political sense."

Yaroslavsky has noted that the redistricting would have no effect on his political future since he is barred by term limits from running again.

Although Molina and Ridley-Thomas have openly said their proposals are supposed to accommodate the county's growing Latino population, Molina's office insists there is much in her plan that is not race-based.

"That is a very big misconception," said Roxane Marquez, a spokeswoman for Molina. "There were many other criteria. We feel very strongly that the maps would be the best options for L.A. County, and the most constitutional options too."

A redistricting plan must get the OK from four of the five board members to pass. The board has until Oct. 31 to get this done. If it does not, the task would be assigned to a committee of representatives from the county Sheriff's Department, Assessor's Office and District Attorney's office.

The Board of Supervisors hearing will take place at 1 p.m. on Tuesday at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, located at 500 West Temple St. in downtown Los Angeles. For more information, go to http://www.redistricting.lacounty.gov.