Drive 30 minutes from Hollister to Morgan Hill and you
’ll pass through four Congressional districts: Richard Pombo’s
in Morgan Hill, Zoe Lofgren’s in San Martin, Mike Honda’s in Gilroy
and Sam Farr’s in San Benito County.
Drive 30 minutes from Hollister to Morgan Hill and you’ll pass through four Congressional districts: Richard Pombo’s in Morgan Hill, Zoe Lofgren’s in San Martin, Mike Honda’s in Gilroy and Sam Farr’s in San Benito County.
Of the four, only Pombo is a Republican; the others are Democrats.
While Farr’s district is a stable and continuous block from Hollister to Monterey and Santa Cruz, those of Honda, Lofgren and Pombo are highly irregular in shape and, appear to make no sense to many residents.
California reassesses its 173 legislative and congressional districts after every census, adding districts according to population changes nationwide, redrawing boundaries and shifting representatives’ areas. A state Senate committee collects public opinion and draws the lines, then presents the new maps to the Legislature for approval.
“The redistricting process is the worst example of conflict of interest I’ve seen in my 11 years in the Legislature,” said Bruce McPherson, retiring 15th district state Senator. “People draw their own lines to protect their own districts.”
McPherson, a Republican, said he voted for the districting plan only because he feared worse division if he did not.
State Senate and Assembly districts used to be “nested,” McPherson said, making “communities of interest.” The current 15th district has parts of only two Assembly districts. The new 15th state Senate district was completely changed and now ranges from Santa Maria to Los Gatos, skipping Gilroy and San Martin but picking up Morgan Hill.
“Now, the 15th Senate district has parts of seven Assembly districts,” he said. “People say you can have an impact on diverse areas but, let’s get real; it’s much easier to concentrate your effort when you have a cohesive unit.”
The 15th State Senate district is only now changing its boundaries, done when the incumbent’s term is finished as is McPherson’s.
Legal challenges are usual, as they were in 2001, with cities and counties claiming that splitting them up weakens their political influence.
Such was the case with Morgan Hill, which was wrenched away from its South County/Silicon Valley neighbors and lumped in with Central Valley residents. Displeased and fearful of being in the political minority – Pombo’s district is more Republican than Democratic, unlike most Santa Clara County districts – the Morgan Hill City Council voted to sue for relief, joining with several cities in at least three cases. Gilroy joined in one.
The primary lawsuit eventually reached the state Supreme Court where it was dismissed in November 2003. The other suits met the same fate.
Pombo, R-Tracy, represents a huge, sprawling, disjointed district that reaches from just south of Sacramento, south irregularly to the San Benito County line and north along the Highway 680 corridor to take in Danville and reaches over to take in Morgan Hill, but not San Martin or Gilroy.
Until district lines were redrawn in 2001, Pombo’s district was entirely in the Central Valley, with a highly agricultural population and little high-tech business. Morgan Hill and Central Valley voters, according to past voting results, tend toward different perspectives on the core issues of water use, transportation, gun control, environmental protection and reproductive choice.
Honda and Lofgren’s districts predominantly lie in San Jose, which has similar interests and populations to Gilroy and San Martin.
Honda said he misses representing Morgan Hill and San Martin.
“But I’m making lemonade out of lemons,” Honda said. “I share information and engage Pombo and Zoe Lofgren on everything we do.”
Honda said one good thing emerging from redistricting is that Morgan Hill (and South Valley) has three members of Congress working for them instead of just one.
Lofgren echoed Honda’s experience.
“Whether in the heart of the city of San Jose or in more rural areas such as San Martin, I do my best to work on all issues affecting the 639,000 constituents in my district, and to represent their concerns in Congress,” Lofgren said this week. “Even though redistricting removed most of Morgan Hill from the 16th district, I find myself continuing to fight for Morgan Hill issues like funding for Llagas Creek (flood relief).”
Pombo, more than his colleagues, must spend hours on the road traveling from one end of the district to the other – a trek that can take two hours or more, depending on traffic. But he seems undaunted by the task.
“He has to plan more carefully with the extra distance,” said Nicole Philbin, Pombo’s press secretary.
One thing Pombo discovered is that no matter where in the district people live, they bring up the same three concerns: transportation, taxes and education.
Farr did not return several calls asking for his view of California redistricting.
One complaint heard after the new district lines passed into law in September 2001 was that the three South Santa Clara County communities belonged together because they had similar populations, interests and needs.
After living for two years with the new Assembly and Congressional boundaries, Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy hasn’t changed his opinion that fragmented districts are bad.
Besides casting a critical eye on the less-than-common interests of towns as different as Morgan Hill and Lodi, he thinks the new districts could effect up-and-coming politicos.
“It’s next to impossible for any local elected official to move up in state or federal office,” Kennedy said. “It makes it really difficult for them (to get noticed) because we are only 5 percent of the district.”
James Brent, associate professor of political science at San Jose State, said there is a tentative plan for change.
“The governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) talked about a panel of judges,” Brent said. “There would have to be a ballot initiative because I don’t think the Legislature would ever put anything on the ballot.”
Brent doesn’t hold out much hope, though, since, except in places like Morgan Hill, there isn’t much passion about the topic.
“It’s an esoteric subject,” he said, “but it could happen, with the governor out in front … .”
Assemblyman Simon Salinas, who also voted for the new districts, agrees about the panel.
“It has to be done properly,” said Salinas, a Democrat whose district includes Gilroy and Hollister, “which means a panel of truly impartial arbiters, carving up the state in a fair and objective way.”
A suggestion by either party would probably cause the effort to fail or end up in court again, but a collection of community groups from a diverse spectrum might have a chance, he said.
McPherson said he has been calling for the redistricting process to be taken off the Legislature’s hands for 15 or 20 years, since he was editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper.
To view district maps, go to www.calvoter.org/voter/maps/
