Redistricting Retains Ideology

Political ideology should absolutely not be a main consideration for an independent, bipartisan body, yet this seems to be the case for the Santa Barbara County Redistricting Commission.

During the meetings for replacing members who have resigned, the commission has been reluctant to truly consider the actual demographic breakdown of the commission relative to that of the county.

As a Hispanic resident of our county, I am disturbed by the fact that such a large portion of our county’s residents are so severely underrepresented on this commission. With the resignation of Jannet Rios, only one Hispanic commissioner remains, less than 10 percent of the Commission will be made up of Hispanic members should the Commission fail to appoint another Latino member.

All the voices of the community need to be heard and represented, including minority groups. That is why I am urging the Commission to choose another Latino member as Jannet Rios’s replacement. While this will still not provide adequate representation to the large Hispanic population in our County, it would be a step in the right direction.