A knot of mostly Westside Democrats huddled in front of City Hall this morning to declare their opposition to rumors they have heard about redistricting commissioners carving new regions allegedly based on what they called “racial prejudice.”
“As a resident of Palms,” said young Joshua Bush, “I have always been proud of the fact that my neighborhood is one of a handful in the state that has nearly equal representation from across four racial groups. When I heard that racially coded language was being used to threaten to break up (the 33rd Congressional) district, I was outraged. When people say they have nothing in common with residents south of Wilshire Boulevard, it is a way of white residents saying they don’t want to associate with black people. I call on the (Citizens’ Redistricting Commission) to reject calls for racial segregation.”
Setting the tone for the press conference as the leader of the band of Progressive Democrats, businessman Dan Henrickson said that as a longtime resident of Culver City, “more than just living here, I choose to be in an urban environment that is diverse. That is part of my identity, not just the wonderful restaurants, but the people who bring their cultures and everything that helps make this area really vibrant.
“When it came time for redistricting and they were talking about splitting up our district and hooking us up with a district that includes Malibu and Agoura, I just didn’t get it. I want to encourage the redistricting commission to keep our community here together.”
The half-dozen leaders represented four different liberal groups, the Culver City Democratic Club, the 47th Assembly District Democratic Club, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles and Neighbors for Change (from the northeast corner of Los Angeles).
They issued a press release that included overt suggestions that dark plotting was afoot:
“We have heard disturbing things from some commissioners working on redistricting,”
and
“Noting that two of the commission’s members have ties to the Tea Party, the groups are asking the commission to reject extremist views and create new districts free from the taint of racial bias.”
Mr. Henrickson said later that he attended a redistricting community meeting in City Hall in mid-June, and he was pleased that “the commissioners do listen to people who speak up. What I am not clear about is how do they balance the different views they are getting.”
All involved agree that is the jackpot question.
“I want to encourage the commission to keep our community here as together as possible,” Mr. Henrickson said. “We have been together for decades, and we have developed really strong alliances. We also have been effective at getting good representatives to speak for us.”
