Latinos Upset With Final CA Political Maps

LOS ANGELES - Latino rights groups are speaking out regarding the California Citizens Redistricting Commission's approval of final redistricting maps.

A challenge was approved earlier this week and could result in lawsuits.

So far no lawsuits have been filed, but Latino civil-rights groups are analyzing the new maps to determine if there are any violations of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

A National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) statement said, "The California Citizens Redistricting Commission adopted a State Senate map that would turn the clock back on Latino political progress for the next decade.”

The statement continued, “The map reduces the number of districts where Latinos can effectively choose their elected representatives. It also significantly weakens the voice of the Latino community in the San Fernando Valley and Orange County."

Astrid Garcia, director of state election policy and redistricting for NALEO, said the commission diminished Latino voting strength.

She cited the reduction of six "Latino-effective" districts statewide down to five with the loss of Senate District 40 in Imperial and Riverside counties.

"Over the last decade, Latinos accounted for over 90 percent of California growth, and nearly two in five Californians are Latinos, so to allow the Latino community to have fair representation, the commission needed to embrace this proportion," Garcia said.

Steven Ochoa, national redistricting coordinator for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said MALDEF is "disappointed by missed opportunities to create new Latino majority districts in the Inland Empire and elsewhere."

Ochoa said the panel could have created new Latino districts in the Inland Empire for the state Senate, Assembly and House of Representatives.

"There could have been a new (Latino) district for all three levels in the area that stretches from Perris to San Bernardino," Ochoa said.