Sonoma County redistricting officials worry new maps fail to address inequities

Sonoma County’s release of three new proposed maps for supervisorial districts ahead of a much-anticipated board meeting Tuesday has done little to resolve the intensifying debate among city dwellers and rural residents over what equitable boundaries would look like.

The new set of maps comes two weeks after the county’s Advisory Redistricting Commission put forward its own map redrawing the five districts that shape the Board of Supervisors. That proposal has stoked hundreds of emails and calls from concerned constituents to the board as it narrows down its choices ahead of a December deadline.

Members of the 19-member commission appointed by supervisors and tasked with improving representation for marginalized communities worry the surge of input from better-organized, better-resourced communities will drown out the say of those the commission was directed to help.

Rohnert Park and coastal residents have raised strong objections to the commission’s map, which moved Rohnert Park into the same west county district as the coast. The shift allowed parts of southwest Santa Rosa, Roseland and Moorland, each with large Latino populations, to move into the central Sonoma County district that takes in most of the city.

But Rohnert Park and west county residents say their respective communities should not share a district because their needs differ. Rohnert Park is largely in the central 3rd District represented by Chris Coursey, while the coast and west county are encompassed by the sprawling 5th District represented by Lynda Hopkins.

But commissioners say those boundaries as adjusted in their proposed map, unanimously approved by the panel, represent the most equitable option to come out of their four months of work.

“I was sad about it. In a way it’s almost like NIMBYism,” Ana Horta, the advisory commission vice chair, said of the reaction.

The question now is whether the board adopts the commission’s map, looks toward one of the three new staff-generated maps or sticks with the current boundaries, as some officials and constituents say may be the best option at this point.

Horta noted that the commission focused on equity principals but was bound by state and federal law to meet redistricting criteria. Every 10 years counties must redraw supervisorial districts, following the U.S. Census, to achieve population balance amid demographic shifts.

The districts will shape elections for the Board of Supervisors and other key government decisions for the next 10 years in Sonoma County.

“In reality it’s not easy trying to balance the population and all of the needs and asks from the community and trying to keep equity at the forefront as well,” Horta said.

Just as public input has increased, so too have the options before the board.

Supervisors have the commission’s map, the three new staff-generated maps and the discretion to request new maps and additional changes. The board must select a final map by Dec. 15.

Meanwhile, Rohnert Park Mayor Gerard Giudice has even submitted two maps for the board’s consideration that City Manager Darrin Jenkins created. Both maps move all of Rohnert Park into the 3rd District, fulfilling the city’s wish.

Ed Sheffield, chair of the county’s redistricting commission, and fellow panelists have urged supervisors to work off their map moving forward, rather than ordering up new maps or looking to outside proposals.

“Unfortunately it sounds like they’re starting back at square one,” Sheffield said. “They’re doing what we did four months ago.”

Sheffield said he is not upset about the board requesting more maps but has advised supervisors and anyone else commenting on the maps to look over California’s Fair Maps Act, which outlines redistricting criteria by priority. High on that list of criteria is the need to keep communities of interest, such as Roseland, intact.

A community of interest is broadly defined by something that sets it apart from neighboring places, such as a predominant language, socioeconomic status or school district jurisdiction, Sheffield said.

Sheffield believes part of the reason for the strong reactions is a lack of understanding of the Fair Maps Act, but commissioner Stephanie Manieri believes it has more to do with resistance to change.

“Change is hard, and what we’re asking for our Board of Supervisors to do is to make a decision that is going to prioritize and uplift the voices of people that are most affected by these boundary changes,” said Manieri. “And that can be scary for people in power and people whose privileges have never been challenged.”

The three new maps from county staff include some dramatic changes. One would stretch Hopkins’ west county district — the 5th District, which spans the coast — all the way east to Napa County.

Two would displace Coursey as the incumbent for the 3rd District by shifting its boundary south to take in more or all of Rohnert Park. His home, meanwhile, would sit in a redrawn 1st District taking in eastern Santa Rosa and Sonoma Valley — the district represented by Supervisor Susan Gorin.

Coursey said he understands the reasoning behind the commission’s map and is waiting to hear county staff and a consulting demographer’s thoughts behind the new maps they drafted.

“I’m going to keep an open mind to that,” Coursey said.

Coursey’s district will be one of the most impacted if any of the maps currently up for consideration are adopted.

The three new county-drawn maps also have stoked blowback.

Rohnert Park council members who had blasted the commission’s favored map viewed the newly released county maps Tuesday in stunned silence.

From the start of redistricting, Rohnert Park has requested it be consolidated into District 3 with Coursey remaining as its representative. But given the options now in play, council members are considering whether the existing boundaries, which divide the city between Districts 2 and 3, are the best-case scenario.

“If you can’t do that, then please leave the situation alone, because selecting one of these maps is only going to make the condition worse for our people,” Giudice said during the council’s discussion last week.

Supervisor David Rabbitt, the 2nd District incumbent, indicated he may favor the current map given the tight time frame and need to evaluate all potential impacts before the mid-December deadline.

The feedback from constituents and officials “really points in a direction that status quo is not a bad deal, because anything else is going to be really problematic,” Rabbitt said.

Both Rabbitt and Gorin said that they are interested to hear from their colleagues whose districts are more severely impacted by the proposed maps, like Coursey and Hopkins.

“Having served as mayor of Santa Rosa, I’m very aware of how important it is to help the communities of Moorland and Roseland continue to be joined with Santa Rosa so that it maintains the perception and reality of one diverse community,” Gorin said.

She also noted that the other common request they are hearing is to keep Cotati and Rohnert Park together as well.

Commissioners are reminding supervisors that the nature of providing feedback to county officials comes with its own set of barriers for marginalized communities.

Residents who stand to be impacted by changes may want to weigh in but are limited because they do not have access to email or may need translation when calling supervisors, Horta and Manieri said.

“There is a disparity right there, and I’m afraid that these voices are once again going to be drowned because they just cannot have a ship that’s strong enough to battle the current,” Horta said.

That disparity also reflects part of the intention behind the Fair Maps Act, which gives neighborhoods priority over cities because of the resources cities have, Sheffield said. That’s why the commission put forward its vision for southwest Santa Rosa, he said, unifying it with the rest of the city.

“The city has their own city council, so they have already the power of an electorate, a body, a neighborhood doesn’t. A neighborhood doesn’t have the representation a city has.”

Cities like Rohnert Park may appear more vocal in the ensuing debate than other communities and interests, he said.

The board’s pursuit of equity may fall by the wayside should those louder voices win out and supervisors ditch the commission’s recommendations, some panel members say.

“It’ll take us three steps back in the work that as a county, supposedly, we’re doing around inclusion, equity and community engagement,” Manieri said.

In response, Coursey acknowledged the county has “a lot of work to do on equity and (redistricting) is part of that.”

“I trust the work that those commissioners did. They spent more time on this than anyone,” Coursey said.

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.