First of Five Redistricting Workshops an Attempt at Transparency

Why Now? 

San Mateo County, along with every county in California, must reexamine their current district boundaries following the 2010 U.S population census.

Under state law, the boundaries must be adjusted after each decade's decennial federal census in order to have five districts of equal population.  Topography, geography, cohesiveness, and political boundaries are reexamined.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors is holding five public meetings through July in order to receive more public feedback, which will help guide the supervisors' decision.

A meeting will be held on June 16 in Half Moon Bay at the at 7:30 p.m. (535 Kelly Ave. at Shoreline Station).

 The League of Women Voters has worked to ensure that the board has an open process, with full records, and full access from people that wanted to make comments.  

“We are trying to avoid what happened ten years ago, when these districts were decided by the Board of Supervisors with little public input,” said Linda Craig of the League of Women Voters of California. “It is about the principle that the decision was not done in an open way, more than any upset over the actual decision.”

 According to the 2010 census, the population of the district of San Mateo has grown only slightly, by 1.6%, or about 6,000 people. 

“Right now we are just reexamining the districts, which is required by law,” said Lee Thompson, chief deputy of the San Mateo County Counsel. “It is possible that because the population has not grown significantly, that boundaries may not even change.” 

 Importance of supervisor redistricting

Each district has its own supervisor on the board, but those supervisors are elected by citizens county-wide, not just the citizens of the district, so district lines would not affect voting. Reassigning the districts only has a significant effect on those running for the board of supervisors, who are required by law to live in the district they are running in. If district lines changed, those running for a particular district may no longer live in that district, and would be forced to move.

By having districts, the supervisors are spread out geographically, and spread across different interests. Although each district has a supervisor who is willing to bring forth those specific districts issues, every decision is done by the Board of Supervisors, and everything they do has to be done by a majority of three votes of the five on the board, so every issue becomes a county wide issue. The topics that the Board of Supervisors address are programs that affect the county as a whole, such as public works and health plans.

“You live in a district but that doesn’t necessary mean you represent only that district,” Thompson said. “There is some sense that if you represent district three, you want someone who lives in district three. Citizens like to feel that you have somebody local. You are going to call the supervisor of your district, so that is what could change.”

Different Issue at large:

One reason that San Mateo County redistricting may have less political impact than other counties is that that San Mateo county uniquely has county-wide elections. In 57 other California counties, only citizens that live in each district vote for that district's supervisor. Although this is a separate issue in the reassigning of the districts, some citizens at the meeting advocated for change.

One major flaw in the current system is that in some communities Latino and Asian communities are not fully represented because it costs a lot of money to get elected count-wide, and a lot less money to get elected by one district.

Many citizens dislike the idea that people from other districts are voting for their district supervisor, when they may know very little about their district, according to David Tom, the San Mateo Director of Elections.

Another concern raised is that district-wide elections allow supervisors to respond only to their apportioned block of dollars and their district, instead of representing the county as a whole.

“A lot of issues come up on the coastline, so if the only people voting for the supervisor of district 3 were the people in that district, and he didn’t care if district 1,2,4,5 voted for him, he would only do what is best for district 3 instead of the whole county,” Thompson said.  “The tax dollars get spread county-wide, so you want five supervisors thinking about it.

The only way for the system to change is for citizens to vote to change the charter. In the past 25 years ago, district-wide elections were voted down twice, according to Thompson.

“In San Francisco, they have very narrow district politics, and have switched from district to district elections, and cannot make policy that is good for the city as a whole,” Tom said. “We are the last county in California to conform, so there is pressure, but I always tell people ‘our county is different’.”

Citizen suggestions:

At the first meeting, citizens commented that current districts should be changed in order to consolidate cities in similar areas. For example, they suggested the Menlo Oaks region be moved from district three to district four, the district that Menlo Park sits in. Similarly, there were requests that the Redwood Shores district switch to district four, to be in the same district as Redwood City. 

Ad hoc committee recommendations to the Board of Supervisors must be completed by September, and the approval for the boundary adjustment plan must be completed by Nov. 1. 

 To view the current district maps and give feedback on how the districts should be realligned go to this website.

The League of Women Voters of North and Central San Mateo County gives an overview of the meetings and what to expect on their website here.

The meeting schedule is as follows:

June 16, 7:30 p.m.

Ted Adcock Community Center

535 Kelly Avenue

Half Moon Bay

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July 11, 6:30 pm

Checuti Room

450 Poplar

Millbrae

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July 14, 6:30 p.m.

Bluebird Room

Foster City Park/Rec

650 Shell Blvd.

Foster City

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July 18, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Doelger Cafe

1010 Lake Merced Blvd.

Daly City