(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – Following a thorough process conducted through nine public meetings of the initial five commissioners, the remaining six of 11 seats on the County of Santa Barbara Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission have been filled. The commission will be tasked with establishing county supervisorial district boundaries for the upcoming decade following receipt of the 2020 federal census data, currently scheduled to be released in late March or early April.

The commission selection process followed criteria of Measure G (County Code Section 2-10.9A) that was approved by voters in November 2018. Following a two-month application period in the summer of 2020, the County Elections Official established a pool of 45 candidates. From that pool, one commissioner from each of the five supervisorial districts was randomly drawn by the County District Attorney. On Monday, December 14, the initial five commissioners selected the final six additional members – one from each supervisorial district and one at-large member to complete the commission.

Interim Chair Glenn Morris, who presided over a series of meetings of the initial five that included public interviews of 12 candidates, said, “The first task the commission faced was to fill out our membership. We were very fortunate to have many qualified candidates from which to choose. We look forward to moving forward with our ultimate task to define district boundaries with a full team in place.”

The six commissioners were chosen based on relevant experience, analytical skills, and an ability to be impartial; and to ensure the commission reflects the county’s diversity, including racial, ethnic, geographic, age, gender and political party registration. The final six commissioners selected by the initial five commissioners are:

First District: Karen Twibell
Second District: Megan Turley
Third District: James Hudley
Fourth District: Lata Murti
Fifth District: Jannet Rios
Member At Large: Benjamin Olmedo

These six join the five initial commissioners who were selected by random draw: 

First District: Laura Katz
Second District: William McClintock
Third District: Norman Bradley
Fourth District: Cary Gray
Fifth District: Glenn Morris

The Commission will begin meeting in January 2021 to review, discuss and deliberate on redistricting statutes, public outreach plans, and mapping tools for constituents to use during a series of public meetings that will be held in each district. The public is encouraged to participate in the redistricting process that is expected to be completed by late summer or early fall 2021.  

To sign up for updates and information about the redistricting process and future public meetings, go to https://bit.ly/3k7oCnY, and visit www.countyofsb.org/redistricting.sbc.

Login

Please note this login is to submit events or press releases. Use this page here to login for your Independent subscription

Not a member? Sign up here.