The first eight commissioners to serve on the California’s first Citizens Redistricting Commission were named Nov. 18, and they include four Asian Americans. They are: Cynthia Dai, a Democrat from San Francisco County; Elaine Kuo, a Democrat from Santal Clara County; Jodie Filkins Webber, a Republican from Riverside County; and Peter Yao, a Republican from Los Angeles County.
The eight commissioners must now select the remaining six commissioners to sit on the 14-member panel. By the end of that process, the commission will include five Republicans, five Democrats and four members that are registered as decline-to-state or with another party. Together, guided by what are said to be strict, nonpartisan rules, the new panel will redraw the lines for the state Senate, Assembly and State Board of Equalization districts, as well as the congressional districts, based on information gathered during the 2010 census.
Every 10 years, every state in the country must redraw the boundaries of its legislative and other political districts to reflect the new population data from the latest decennial census. Such boundaries affect how people are represented. In California, the process of redrawing the boundaries, known as redistricting, was formerly the responsibility of state elected officials, but the voter-passed Proposition 11 (the Voters FIRST Act) in the November 2008 general election and Proposition 20 (The Voters First Act for Congress) in the November 2010 election, transferred that duty to the people in the form of a new Citizens Redistricting Commission.
You can read the bios of the four Asian American commission members here. For the complete list of the first eight commission members and more information on redistricting in California, visit http://www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.
