Politics & Government

PUSD Board Endorses Adjusted Consensus Districting Map

A money-saving version of the Districting Task Force's original consensus map was approved with a 5-2 vote.

Pasadena Unified School Board members voted 5-2 Tuesday night to approve a slightly tweaked version of the task force-endorsed districting map they praised in March, following a storm of heated commentary triggered from a

Many people used public comment time to support the task force's consensus map while also questioning the existence of the other maps, or even the intentions of the board itself.

"These maps are an outrage," said Peter Dreier, a resident and Occidental professor who called the alternative maps an example of blatant gerrymandering. "This is after 50 meetings, 10 months of work and community input and then at the last minute, without community input, the consultants throw alternative maps up so a few of you can keep your seats? I know there are a few of you on the board who try to do that … you know who you are, and the voters will know who you are."

Other residents said even the consideration of the new maps discredits nearly a year of work from the task force and community. Altadena resident Monica Hubbard voiced shock at the existence of the new maps after reading about them on Patch.

"Over 10 months ago, I trusted this board and trusted the public process," she said. "This was a little bit startling to say the least. The public trusted that 10-month process. Don't betray that trust."

Richard Moon, a former member of the task force (it was dissolved upon the completion of the consensus map) said he supported the map not because of the work he put into it, but of the process involved in its creation.

"Many people feel we failed," he said. "What I care about is the process … it was going to serve the people who needed to be served. Simply throwing options out at the last minute doesn't help the process."

The board digested consultant Doug Johnson's report outlining seven maps, including an unchanged version of the task force's consensus map. Johnson said the maps were developed after board members expressed concerns about incumbents being placed in the same district. You can see the maps and Johnson's presentation to the right of this article.

The map the board approved was "Option 2," which Johnson said makes minor administrative adjustments to the original consensus map that would "smooth" the election administration process and help save money for the district.

"The real savings is for the voters," Johnson said. "These precincts would be so small if they were left the way they were, there would be no polling place. People would be told they'd have to vote by mail, there'd be an additional ballot type that would have to be processed administratively."

The changes, Johnson noted, regards the district borders around Del Mar Boulevard and Allen Avenue in Pasadena as well as Mountain Street and El Molino Avenue. The new borders would add voters to Districts 4,5 and 6.

The board speaks

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Board members Ramon Miramontes and Scott Phelps were the two votes against the approval of the map, with Miramontes railing against the lack of voting power the map offers to the Latino community for a vote in 2013, a sentiment that was also shared by representatives of the League of United Latin American Citizens (L.U.L.A.C.) who spoke at the meeting.

"The only group here in PUSD that will merit a lawsuit in court is Latinos," he said. "If the maps represented areas where there were enough registered Latino voters, a high propensity where Latinos can win, then I would have a different opinion ... when the election happens a year from now, the likelihood of no Latino winning is real. This map I cannot support because empirically ... it is very difficult for one Latino to win in 2013."

Find out what's happening in Altadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Give the Latinos a couple of years to register to vote (in 2015)", Miramontes added. "It's impossible to do it in such a short amount of time. The fact is, the (chance) of any Latino winning any of these seats is not likely."

Phelps said he first had faith that the task force and consultants didn't consider incumbency in the making of the map, "but the chance of putting seven board members in four out of six districts and leaving two vacant is just too low for me to believe that. You did consider incumbency. For you to say you didn't is a lie. It's just false. You can't create two vacant without trying."

Phelps also noted there were "machinations behind the scenes", calling Dreier, the Oxy professor, a "human stain in terms of machinations. This is politics as usual. This does a disservice to Latinos, and to the majority of students at PUSD."

Board member Ed Honowitz, who virtually attended and spoke at the meeting through speakerphone, found the emergence of new maps disturbing, adding that "short circuiting" the process leading to the consensus map "flies in the face of what the people are saying." Board President Renatta Cooper also said the new maps' arrival was "inappropriate," and was ready to "let the voters decide."

If approved by the board, redistricting will ultimately be voted on by residents in the June election, though the actual maps worked out by the task force will not appear on the ballot for voters to examine.

For more on the task force's process, check out the below links:


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