By Linda Taaffe
Santa Clara County
State Assembly members Elaine Alquist and Ron Diaz agreed Oct. 25 to sponsor legislation to prevent the 11th-hour backroom dealings that critics say occurred during the redistricting of Santa Clara County’s voting boundaries last September.
A local coalition accusing the assembly of approving last-minute boundary changes behind closed doors demanded that the assembly allow the public at least seven days to review all proposed redistricting plans.
The Coalition of Asian-Pacific Americans for Fair Redistricting, which includes Los Altos residents, claims that the new boundaries fragment the county’s most heavily populated Asian neighborhoods, potentially diluting the voting power of those communities.
Jackie Maruhashi, staff attorney for the Asian Law Alliance, said the coalition testified before the assembly redistricting committee several times during the mapping process to express concerns about keeping minority groups intact. She said the final plan was completely different from any of those presented earlier.
Six State Assembly members met with the local civil rights coalition Oct. 26 to discuss resident concerns.
In addition to the new legislation, the assembly agreed to the coalition’s demands to improve communications with district voters through meetings, an expanded Web site and quarterly newsletters.
The city of Santa Clara is in the process of filing a lawsuit against the state and the coalition has threatened to do the same unless Governor Gray Davis readjusts the boundaries. Federal and state law requires the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to adjust district boundaries every 10 years.
The new supervisorial districts divide San Jose’s Berryessa neighborhood, which is about 52.9 percent Asian, into four assembly districts. Santa Clara, which is about 30 percent Asian, and the Evergreen area in San Jose, which is about 44.2 percent Asian, are split into two voting districts each.
District 5, which includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale remained unchanged in the new boundary configurations.
