Committee prefers District 5 for the Hill

At the Nov. 3 meeting of the county’s 2020 Advisory Redistricting Committee (ARC), its Executive Office Technical Redistricting Committee (EOTRC) presented more than a dozen possible revisions of the current supervisorial district boundaries. EOTRC created six of the maps and the rest (including slight modifications of a few) were public submissions.

Ultimately, ARC unanimously recommended that EOTRC continue to analyze and prepare five maps for the board of supervisors. United IE Redistricting Boundaries, a public group, submitted one of the maps. The other four originated with EOTRC.

While not making a formal recommendation in its motion, a majority of ARC did express a preference for EOTRC’s Map F (see graphic).

This map included Pine Cove, Idyllwild, Mountain Center and the portion of Garner Valley just south of Lake Hemet with the cities of Hemet, San Jacinto, and north to Beaumont, Calimesa and east to Moreno Valley. Much of this area composes the current District 5.

Of the other four maps, three of them assigned the Hill communities to District 4, which is composed of the desert cities and east to Blythe. Map F places them in District 5.

The United IE map created a geographically larger District 3. It would stretch from the county’s southern border, Temecula and Menifee, all the way to the northern border, including Calimesa and Cherry Valley. In the middle of this district is Valle Vista and East Hemet, along with Idyllwild, Pine Cove, Mountain Center and south to the Anza line.

After EOTRC’s presentation of multiple maps, many slight modifications of earlier versions, 4th District Commissioner Guillermo “Bill” Sanchez, began ARC’s discussion with the acknowledgement that his district’s population was below the average based on the 2020 census data.

“One of our challenges is the 4th District has to grow,” Sanchez began. “There are two options: into the Pass area or into the Anza and Aguanga communities, which are further away from the Coachella Valley.”

Noting that the distance from Blythe to Aguanga is 157 miles, “Right under a three-hour drive,” Sanchez stated. “Because of these constraints, it is better suited for expansion of the 4th to move into the Pass area and concentrate or incorporate the Pass area.”

Speaking for the 5th District, Commissioner Eric Kroencke commented that he preferred an option that kept the Morongo Tribal reservation and the cities of Banning and Beaumont, i.e., the Pass Area, together in one district.

Commissioner Gary Thornhill, 3rd District, was concerned with how several options tended to create more split cities to accommodate balance among the five districts. He agreed with Sanchez’s preferred map.

And Commissioner David Leonard, 2nd District, spoke directly to the Hill’s history and location. “Idyllwild is a unique place with multiple access, but has susceptibility to fire. It has suffered a number of ravages, including a highway washed out, many fires, jurisdiction split between CalFire and the U.S. Forest Service, and three water districts. It doesn’t need the added calamity of a different district conjoining that community.”

He then stated he agreed with his colleagues, favoring the map F option.

Comparison of draft maps

Throughout the redistricting process, staff has stressed that achieving equal populations among the district is the principal priority, while also meeting other priorities from the Voting Rights Act and court decisions on redistricting.

Option F has a spread of 2.37% between the largest and smallest district. The largest has 490,539 and the smallest district has a population of 479.099.

Of the five maps, this is the second-largest spread. The greatest spread is 3.04% and the least population spread is 0.24%.

For other criteria, such as number of cities or unincorporated communities split, easily identifiable boundaries or boundaries that bypass nearby neighborhoods for more distant, the United IE map did poorly, according to the EOTC comparison.

EOTC had an analysis done of the racial polarization of past elections within each district. The consultant concluded, “We find that racially polarized voting between Latino voters and non-Hispanic white voters occurred in the last decade. Our evidence shows there to be racially polarized voting in both Board of Supervisor elections and exogenous statewide elections held within Riverside County. In addition, there is evidence that some Latino candidates of choice lose in Riverside County because white voters support white candidates of choice who defeat Latino voters’ preferred candidates.”

In the report, it stated that racially polarized voting had occurred in every district of the county.

The four EOTRC maps create one district with a minority population that is a majority of the voters. The United IE map would establish two minority-majority districts.

Next steps

After its discussion of the maps, ARC voted unanimously to forward five maps with comments and recommendations to the supervisors for the board’s Nov. 9 meeting.

The supervisors also will discuss redistricting options at their Nov. 16 meeting and ARC will hold another public discussion on Dec. 1. The board has a deadline of Dec. 15 to approve the new supervisorial district boundaries.