This story originally appeared at Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts.
The 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission has just released preliminary maps for Congressional, State Senate, and State Assembly Districts, and significant changes are in the works — especially in the Assembly District intended to represent Santa Barbara County.
Redistricting takes place every decade after Census data is released. To their credit, the state’s voters in 2010 passed an initiative that moved control over the crucial process out of the hands of self-interested politicians, giving it to an independent commission to ensure a fairer reapportionment, one that is based on real geographical factors and genuine communities of interest.