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Politics & Government

Newark Shifts to South in Redistricting Plan

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission released its first draft of proposed changes to congressional, state senate and state assembly district maps on June 10.

Newark’s political representation may make a major shift—into Santa Clara County—if the first round of congressional and state legislative district maps released June 10 by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission becomes final.

The 14-member independent commission has redrawn the lines for the state's 53 Congressional districts, 40 State Senate districts, 80 Assembly districts and four Board of Equalization seats after working for months on the endeavor.

It's a process that's new to California, and it represents a large-scale national effort to weed out gerrymandering.

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The commission was spawned by a 2008 voter-approved ballot measure that stripped state legislators of the power to draw their own boundaries and was expanded to include congressional districts last November.

Redistricting occurs every 10 years using updated population data from the most recent U.S. Census. This time around the commission says its goal is to create contiguous districts of relatively equal population that minimize city and county divisions and group towns with similar "communities of interest."

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The proposal joins Newark and parts of Fremont with Santa Clara County for representation, dividing those two cities from their Tri-Cities counterpart, Union City.

Newark Mayor David Smith said the proposal brings the political representation of Newark and Fremont back to the way it was in the 1970s and 1980s. He said in those times, the focus lay more within Santa Clara County but that the elected national and state officials had worked well with him.

“There was a bit of tilt toward Santa Clara County if I recall correctly in terms of district composition,” Smith wrote in an email to Patch. “But the elected (officials) were pretty accessible and I worked with them and their successors. I’m sure that my successor could do so again if that’s the way things wind up.”

Congressional House of Representatives

If the first draft of the maps is adopted, Newark and most of Fremont will shift from the 13th Congressional District, currently represented by Pete Stark (D-Fremont), into a district made up mostly of Santa Clara County cities, including Milpitas.

Union City would stay in the 13th Congressional District, along with several Alameda County cities including Hayward, San Leandro, Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore.

The lines would also move Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Pleasanton) out of his district and into the 13th. McNerney currently represents the 11th Congressional District, which straddles portions of the East Bay and the more conservative Central Valley.

He could run in the 13th District in upcoming congressional elections should Stark, a veteran lawmaker first elected to Congress in 1973, step down.

Union City Mayor Mark Green said with the exclusion of Alameda and addition of Castro Valley, Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore, the new 13th District could carry a more influential voice in Congress. 

"You have a very strong Southern Alameda County seat with that area," he said.

State Assembly

The same would occur in representation within the state Assembly. Newark and most of Fremont would shift south, and Union City would also be separated from its Tri-Cities counterparts

Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) currently represents the 20th Assembly District, an irregularly-shaped area that includes Newark, Fremont, Union City, Milpitas and parts of Sunol, Castro Valley and Pleasanton, plus tiny portions of Hayward and San Jose.

The new map shows Newark and most of Fremont joining a district that includes portions of Santa Clara County, while Union City and a northern part of Fremont would join the 18th Assembly District, currently represented by Rep. Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward), who will be termed out in 2012.

Union City would lose Wieckowski as its representative because state lawmakers are required to live in the districts they represent.

Wieckowski, currently serving his first term, said he hopes the Tri-Cities are reunited once a second round of draft maps is unveiled next month.

"The Tri-Cities have numerous regional organizations. We read the same newspaper, we get the same cable TV," Wieckowski said. "The commission did express an interest in revisiting district lines around Fremont, but they're going to have a difficult time because Berryessa's been split up in the past, Pleasanton's been split up in the past. My hope would be that Fremont and Newark could be united, and in my best world Union City would be united also, because of the economic interests that we have together."

Smith echoed Wieckowski’s sentiment.

“My preference would certainly be to hold the Tri-Cities together in all three districts.  We work together so much on a local level that it would be good to continue that relationship as we move into state and federal arenas,” Smith said.

Green pointed out that Union City would still be aligned with the portion of Fremont it shares its border with, and that although it has ties to the Tri-Ctiies, joining a district with Hayward makes sense too.

Union City currently shares more of its border with Hayward than with any other town. The New Haven Unified School District serves parts of Hayward as well, and both cities are represented in District 2 on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, Green said.

State Senate

Newark, a part of the 10th State Senate District, will continue to share a state senator with Fremont, Union City and Hayward, plus the communities of San Lorenzo, Sunol and Milpitas.

The main differences in the new boundaries are the exclusion of Pleasanton and San Leandro and the 10th District's push south to include more of San Jose. A portion of the unincorporated community of Castro Valley is currently in the district; in the new proposal, all of Castro Valley would be included. 

Newark is represented by Sen. Majority Leader Ellen Corbett (D-San Leandro), whose hometown would join Alameda, Berkeley and Oakland in the 9th State Senate District. It is an open question which political leaders might end up securing the 9th and 10th District seats in elections next year.

What's Next

Commissioners will now hold 11 hearings throughout the state to get public feedback on the proposed district maps. Bay Area meetings are scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. June 25 at San Jose City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St., and from 6 to 9 p.m. June 27 at Fort Mason Center's Cowell Theater in San Francisco. (For a full schedule, visit www.wedrawthelines.org).

Interested parties are expected to weigh in extensively on the drafts, and commissioners could change the district boundaries in a second draft of maps due to be released on July 7. More public testimony will be gathered before final maps are released Aug. 1. The deadline to adopt final maps is Aug. 15.

While Smith said he favors the Tri-Cities’ representation staying whole, and his hope is that Newark will remain undivided.

“My greatest overriding concern is that Newark stays whole no matter what,” he said.

Residents who have opinions on the proposed district boundaries may submit their comments via email to votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov, by mail to the Citizens Redistricting Commission, 901 P St., Suite 154-A, Sacramento, CA 95814 or by FAX to 916-651-5711.

Newark Patch editor Nika Megino contributed to this report.

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