California Citizens Redistricting Commission
Feedback on FINAL MAPS is due before AUGUST 12.
LA Times article re California Redistricing Commission Click here to go to article
Send email to: votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov
California Redistricting Committee Website: http://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/
LETTER WRITING GUIDELINES:
It is critical to FLOOD the Commission with as many letters/emails as
possible to express our community’s concerns about the proposed maps created by
the Commission. Following, you will find both a sample letter that you can cut
and paste as well some key bullet points you might want to include if you’re
drafting your own letter/email. When you illustrate your individual examples of
what you’d like changed, the Commission needs to know three key things about our
community:
1. The economic and
social interests that bind your community together.
Be sure to include information about common culture or history,
shared use of a community asset (a park, transportation facilities, shopping
districts) or a shared goal such as reducing crime or promoting economic
development.
2. Why your community
should be kept together for fair and effective representation.
Be sure to discuss why splitting your community into two districts
would be harmful – the lines bisect city boundaries so neighbors whose children
attend the same school, utilize the same parks or libraries or even share the
same Neighborhood Watch groups would be in different districts. Be specific if
you can, citing joint efforts to restore a community garden, upgrade a local school,
etc.
3. Where your community
is located.
Be sure to make clear the area you are discussing. Sending along a
Google map or other clear indication of the area about which you are concerned
(even down to the street level) is important since many members of the
Commission are not familiar with our area.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear
Commissioners,
I
am writing to encourage you to reconsider the way you have drawn Congressional
maps 43 and 33.
As
a resident of _________, I believe you have made a serious mistake in not
including the communities of Westchester, Playa del Rey and Playa Vista (zip
codes 90045, 90293 and 90094) in the same district as the coastal cities with
whom we share far more interests than those in the proposed maps.
What your map has done is split
communities of interest. We share many similar interests with the Beach Cities
that we do not share with the communities with which you have lumped us in: transportation issues,
coastal and environmental issues, quality of our homes, educational levels, income
levels, property values, our general lifestyle and culture, proximity to the
beach, our shopping and dining centers and many more.
A
small part of Westchester is east of the 405 but, the 405 freeway is really a
line of demarcation, and community similarities begin to fall off rapidly as
you move east and past the 405 freeway. Our west and northern boundaries are
significant geological boundaries with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the
Ballona Creek to the north.
While the proposed map looks
similar to the existing Congressional map, there is no doubt that the
communities of Westchester, Playa del Rey and Playa Vista do not feel that they
are fairly represented in the current district. The new map falls painfully
short of your goal of fair representation for all.
I do not envy the task that
you have and understand that you cannot intimately know every
community. So I ask you to listen to the voices from this community who
are pleading that you align Westchester Playa TOGETHER and WITH THE BEACH
CITIES.
Sincerely,
NAME
ADDRESS
BULLET POINTS AND KEY IDEAS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR
LETTER:
· Revise the proposed maps to
include Westchester, Playa del Rey and Playa Vista in the same district as the
Beach Cities
· Our community shares
“communities of interest” with coastal cities, not those east of the 405
· Among the important
“communities of interest” we share with the Beach Cities are:
o Transportation issues
o Coastal and environmental
issues
o Quality of our homes
o Educational levels
o Income levels
o Property values
o General lifestyle and
culture
o Proximity to the beach
o Shopping and dining centers
· A small part of Westchester
is east of the 405 but, the 405 freeway is really a line of demarcation between
communities
· Westchester, Playa del Rey
and Playa Vista do not share “communities of interest” in the existing
districts, so creating a district that changes very little only perpetuates the
lack of proper representation for our community
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