New Proposed District Model Could Change Altadena's Representative

A that could mean totally new electoral boundaries for Altadena took another twist last week as the commission examined a new district concept that could mean current Altadena representative Adam Schiff would no longer represent the town.

The conceptual district, which is displayed on right, was part of a staff report from the commission's meetings last week, and will be part of the discussion on what the ultimate district could end up looking like.

It is radically different from the original draft district the commission released on June 10. That draft district, called the "San Gabriel Valley Foothill District" would have split Altadena off from being associated with most of Pasadena as well as other close towns to the south like South Pasadena, San Gabriel, and more.

Instead, in that proposal, Altadena would be lumped in with other foothill cities from La Canada Flintridge to Upland, as well as Glendale and Burbank, Schiff's town of residence.

The new proposal looks more to the South: though other foothill cities like La Canada Flintridge, Sierra Madre, Duarte, and Monrovia would still be in the district with Altadena, so would Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Gabriel, Temple City, Arcadia, Rosemead, and Monterey Park.

The final district is still totally up in the air: the first proposal was a draft district that coincided with a state-wide proposal for districts.  The second was used as a discussion point for possibly changing the original draft proposal when the final districts are released in August.

If the district does end up looking more like the latest proposal the biggest beneficiary could be Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, who has announced his intentions to run for Congress in 2012.

The Foothill District proposal would put Portantino in the same district as Schiff which would make it likely that Portantino would have to .  The new district also bears a close resemblance to the current Assembly district that Portantino represents, so voters in many of the towns would be familiar with him.

But the latest proposal would put Schiff's town of residence, Burbank, into a district with Glendale and parts of Los Angeles, making it more likely he'd run in that district.

The newest map could also benefit Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, who represents about 10 percent of Altadena.  The new concept would put his home town of San Dimas in a district with some of the East San Gabriel Valley foothill cities that he currently represents.  The June 10 proposal has San Dimas lumped with more Democratic leaning cities south of the 210 Freeway.

Whether the commission adopts a district that looks more like the latest proposal, the June 10 proposal, or something else entirely is still completely up in the air.  The have already passed, but residents can still submit an official comment on the proposals online.