Once recalled, Josh Newman will essentially be left without a state Senate district once his current term ends, after final maps proposed Monday, Dec. 20, by California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission narrowly draw him into fellow Democratic Sen. Dave Min’s district and parcel out the rest of Newman’s current territory.
The new maps, which also change district boundaries for the state Assembly and U.S. House throughout California, do give Orange County a sliver of a new state Senate district, with Brea drawn into a seat primarily in Los Angeles County.
Commissioners also drew a right-leaning seat that runs from San Clemente to Seal Beach and includes the heart of Little Saigon. People living in coastal areas and the Vietnamese community had sought to be put into a single district during public hearings held by the Commission as part of the map drawing process.
The changes revealed Monday — which are expected to be final — figure to prompt lots of political reshuffling before upcoming elections, since state Assembly and Senate members are legally required to live in the district they represent.
The new maps are part of a once-a-decade redistricting process required under federal law, after new Census data comes out, to ensure populations are equally spread between districts. This cycle, census data shows there needs to be about 988,000 people in each state Senate district.
In California, to avoid partisan gerrymandering and to make line drawing more transparent, the redistricting process has been handled since 2008 by a Citizens Redistricting Commission, which includes 14 volunteers who represent diverse political views and different parts of the state. In this cycle, they’ve been collecting public input and meeting for much of the past year, and finalized the maps for all 40 State Senate districts on Sunday night.
Commission members are expected to vote on those final maps Monday evening and then hold a press conference on the steps of the state Capitol on Dec. 27 as they turn final maps over to the Secretary of State. Legal challenges still are possible, but once approved the maps will hold until the next redistricting, after the 2030 Census.
There are six State Senate districts covering parts of Orange County under the new maps — up from five under the current boundaries. While those districts will divide the county in new ways, the extra seat will give the county one more voice advocating on its behalf in Sacramento.
One of the biggest questions triggered by the new boundaries is what it means for Newman, who first won his seat in 2016, was recalled in 2018 for joining Democrats in voting to raise gas taxes, then won his seat back in 2020.
“I don’t really have any idea for what this means for 2024,” Newman said by phone Monday.
He said he has no plans to move to a new city so he can try to run for another district, saying he thinks such moves lack “integrity.”
As for whether he’d run against Min in 2024, Newman said he likes his fellow freshman Senator. “I’m not interested in being drawn into that, at least not now,” he said. And he added that there are lots of ways to “have a positive impact” that don’t include being a state Senator.
In the meantime, Newman said he plans to continue focusing on work for residents of the current SD-29. Since his seat isn’t up for re-election until 2024, he’ll continue to represent those residents until then. And since some of those residents have been drawn into new districts and will get to vote for their new representative in 2022, they technically will have two state Senators through 2024.
Min, who noted that the new SD-37 includes nearly 80% of his current SD-37 district, said he plans to “work tirelessly to serve the current residents and businesses of the district and will make sure that new constituents have the voice in Sacramento they deserve.”
With Sen. Pat Bates, R-Laguna Niguel termed out of her seat next year, Supervisor Lisa Bartlett had thrown her hat in the ring for that district, which has included southern Orange County and northern San Diego County. But the new maps significantly reduce the O.C. portion of that district, including carving out Dana Point, where Bartlett lives.
Bartlett now lives in the new coastal district, which favors Republicans by a couple percentage points. She didn’t immediately respond to a request Monday about whether she plans to shift her campaign to focus on that seat in 2024.
As for Bates’ redrawn district — which still will include Mission Viejo, Ladera Ranch, Coto de Coza and San Juan Capistrano — odds now heavily favor Democrat Catherine Blakespear, mayor of Encinitas, since the district shifts to become more blue and to be more heavily concentrated in San Diego County.
Updated state Senate maps also carve up parts of north county. Half of Yorba Linda is in a massive state Senate district that includes swaths of San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties, an area now represented by Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore.
Another question is what might happen with Sen. Tom Umberg, D-Santa Ana. While the map suggests voter registration will tip even more heavily Democratic, the district also will becomes a majority Latino, reaching north to include a swath of Los Angeles County. If a solid Latino challenger on the left emerges, Umberg could face a strong challenge in 2022.
His team didn’t respond Monday to a request for comment on the changes and what they might mean for his campaign.
When discussing Orange County’s new Senate districts, redistricting commissioner Sara Sadhwani said during Monday’s meeting that they worked hard to keep together communities of interest, such as the coastal cities and Little Saigon as defined by the many residents from that area who spoke during public comments over the past year.
The public can continue to weigh in on the maps through Dec. 27, and the commission still has live-streamed meetings scheduled over the next week.
Source: Orange County Register
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