1
1 P-R-O-C-E-E-D-I-N-G-S
2 --ooOoo--
3 CHAIRMAN PERATA: I'd like to call this hearing
4 to order, 1:00 o'clock having arrived and gone.
5 This is the State Senate Elections and
6 Reapportionment Committee hearing on redistricting.
7 I'd like to thank all of you for joining us
8 today. You all can come up and sit closer if you'd like.
9 There's not going to be any questions asked of the audience.
10 My name is Don Perata. I'm the State Senator
11 from Oakland, and I am the Chair of the Senate Committee on
12 Elections and Reapportionment.
13 Joining me today is San Diego's own Dede Alpert,
14 Senator from right here, and Senator Deborah Ortiz from
15 Sacramento.
16 Today's proceeding is the third in a series of
17 hearing the Committee is holding throughout the state, dedicated
18 to the Senate's 2001 redistricting effort. The purpose of these
19 hearings is to give local elected officials and members of the
20 public an opportunity to offer their comments and suggestions
21 regarding new legislative, Congressional, and Board of
22 Equalization districts that will be developed this year.
23 If you wish to testify today and did not get on
24 the agenda, please enter your name and contact information on
25 the sign-in sheet at the table outside the entrance.
26 We have several people who wish to testify who
27 have notified us ahead of time, so we're going to call them.
28 But we will limit all speakers to three minutes.
2
1 If you have any written comments, those can be
2 turned in. They will become formally part of the record. So,
3 if you have something informally prepared, you don't have to
4 read it all. You could just sort of summarize.
5 I'd like to ask any Committee Member if they'd
6 like to make an opening statement.
7 SENATOR ALPERT: Well, I just wanted to thank
8 Senator Perata for holding the hearing here in San Diego so that
9 the people of San Diego would have an opportunity to have their
10 input made and to talk about the kinds of things that they'd
11 like to see in redistricting, something that, as you all are
12 aware, we do have every ten years, and something which we are
13 going to ultimately file by the time we finish our session by
14 September 15th. We will have a good plan to present to
15 everyone.
16 Again, thank you, Senator Perata, for coming down
17 to listen to the people of San Diego.
18 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you.
19 Senator Ortiz.
20 SENATOR ORTIZ: I also wanted to thank Senator
21 Perata, the Chair of the Committee.
22 This is the second of community meetings that
23 I've attended, and each time it's quite helpful for us as we get
24 a sense and understanding of the various local communities
25 throughout the state.
26 So, I look forward to the testimony and
27 presentations today.
28 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you.
3
1 We will begin by asking the Honorable Lori Holt
2 Pfeiler, is she here, the Mayor of Escondido?
3 We have Mayor Victor Carrillo from the City of
4 Calexico. Mayor, please come forward.
5 Larry, you're next, so you may as well come
6 forward too.
7 MAYOR CARRILLO: Do you want me to sit here?
8 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Please. We prefer a stationary
9 target.
10 MAYOR CARRILLO: First of all, good afternoon.
11 I want to take this opportunity to thank you for
12 allowing me to be one of the first speakers, because I wasn't
13 expecting to be one of the first, but nevertheless --
14 CHAIRMAN PERATA: She'll yell at you if you don't
15 give us your name for the record.
16 MAYOR CARRILLO: I'm sorry. My name is Victor
17 Carrillo, the Mayor of the City of Calexico.
18 I'm here to talk about the interests of the
19 residents of Calexico, the community of Calexico, being a border
20 community in the Imperial County with Mexicali, and sharing the
21 same concerns and the same issues that affect Calexico-Mexicali
22 and the border region as San Ysidro, Tijuana, and San Diego.
23 And as far as the Senate redistricting is
24 concerned, it is our interest and our desire that the City of
25 Calexico in Imperial County be included with the redistricting
26 of San Ysidro, Chula Vista, the South Bay area, because we share
27 a lot of commonality. Many of our residents and natives of
28 Calexico have moved to San Diego to aspire either in levels of
4
1 employment or seeking to raise their academic training through
2 San Diego State, or the University of California at San Diego,
3 or University of San Diego. Many of them locate and live in the
4 South Bay area.
5 And so, we feel that we have a lot in common,
6 particularly in sharing border issues. And we feel that the
7 representation should reflect that.
8 From that standpoint, that's why I'm here
9 conveying the message and the wishes of the City of Calexico,
10 that we be considered in the redistricting to be aligned with
11 the South Bay area.
12 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you, sir, for being here.
13 I appreciate that.
14 Next we have Ralph Inzunza from the City Council
15 of San Diego.
16 Welcome.
17 COUNCIL MEMBER INZUNZA: Thank you, Senator, and
18 thank you Members of the Senate Committee. We appreciate very
19 much you coming down here and hearing some of our testimony.
20 What I wanted to address today is primarily --
21 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Give us your name.
22 COUNCIL MEMBER INZUNZA: Ralph Inzunza,
23 I-n-z-u-n-z-a, with the City Council here in San Diego.
24 What I wanted to address today is to talk about
25 some of the redistricting that'll be going on here in San Diego,
26 and to look at the different possibilities for a Senate seat
27 that would combine the border areas, from San Diego and the
28 Imperial Beach areas, all the way to the Imperial Valley. I
5
1 think it's very important to look at this, because I think
2 there's a lot of issues, a lot of common issues of interest that
3 we should look at.
4 There are transportation corridors that I think
5 do bring the areas together, whether it's 94 or whether it's
6 I-8. The southern tier of my district also has 905 that ties
7 into the rest of the different arteries.
8 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Where is your district?
9 COUNCIL MEMBER INZUNZA: My City Council
10 District, sir, is broken up in two tiers. There's the northern
11 tier, which is central San Diego, along parts of downtown, not
12 too far from here: Barrio Logan, Sherman Heights, Logan
13 Heights, Southcrest. It's primarily just east of downtown. So,
14 if you were to go east of downtown, it's that part.
15 And then it's broken up so that if you skip the
16 cities of Chula Vista and National City, the southern tier is
17 that part of the City of San Diego all along the border is in my
18 district. So, everything next to Imperial Beach, Otay, Nestor,
19 San Ysidro, the Tijuana River Valley, before you go into it. It
20 is considered to be a heavily Latino Democratic seat.
21 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you.
22 COUNCIL MEMBER INZUNZA: The middle tier also of
23 this proposed new Senate seat also would have I-54, as well as
24 I-94, I-5, and 805. And it would be important, because I think
25 you'd be able to tie in many of those communities that are south
26 of 94. You'd be able to bring in Sherman Heights, and Shell
27 Town, Logan Heights communities, but also the whole cities of
28 National City, of Chula Vista, and the southern part of the 8th
6
1 District.
2 I think it's also important to look at the parks
3 when looking at these regional corridors. We have the Otay
4 Valley Regional Park, which meanders along the southern part of
5 the City of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista. The Tijuana
6 River Valley, which abuts the City of Imperial Beach and the
7 City of San Diego and the border with Mexico, as well as the
8 bike pass that we have that starts off at Imperial Beach and
9 leads us all the way up to the northern parts of San Diego in
10 terms of the central parts there, Golden Hill being one of them.
11 I think also the school districts are very
12 important to look at. Much right now of the Senate seat that is
13 made up of Senator Peace's seat, the southern part is the
14 portion that we agree with. And there is where you do have a
15 lot of school districts that are together, whether it's the
16 Sweetwater School District, Southwestern College, Chula Vista
17 Elementary, National City Elementary, these are all part of a
18 cohesive educational system that tie in to either Southwestern
19 College, to City College, and then eventually to our Cal State
20 and UC system here.
21 I think the other thing that's important is to
22 look at some of the redevelopment areas. We have many similar
23 redevelopment areas that are trying to take advantage of our
24 binational border. And I think for that reason, it's important
25 to look at both San Diego and Imperial Counties being together,
26 because we believe by doing that, you can have issues that will
27 be addressed, whether it's binational trade, commerce, whether
28 it's looking at the water issues, and the different issues that
7
1 really do tie in Southern California. There are some
2 agricultural concerns that need to be addressed along both
3 counties. And I think that could be done in one Senatorial
4 district.
5 The redevelopment zones that we have in National
6 City are very similar to those in Chula Vista's Marina. The
7 Redevelopment Agency in San Ysidro is currently looking at ways
8 of partnering up with Imperial Beach to find ways to improve
9 that.
10 And then you have the communities of Sherman
11 Heights, and Grant Hill, and Logan Heights along the Imperial
12 Avenue corridor, which are also looking to begin a redevelopment
13 area similar to those mentioned.
14 There are many border-related issues, as
15 mentioned. Many of the shopping centers share very similar
16 interests, anywhere from El Centro, to Chula Vista, to National
17 City. Many of them are dependent on commerce coming from both
18 sides of the border.
19 You also can look at the different issues in
20 regards to border safety that need to be addressed along the
21 whole area. We think it'd be very advantageous for San Diego to
22 have an advocate that represents the border communities that
23 really do have many of these interests.
24 And then I think there's housing issues that deal
25 with affordable housing from here to the Arizona border. Many
26 of the homes that we have right now aren't affordable, and we
27 need to find ways to get a voucher program or other programs
28 where you can get people to get first-time homebuyer programs.
8
1 We have these problems in my district in San Ysidro, in National
2 City, but also in El Centro and in other parts of the Imperial
3 Valley.
4 Then it's also an issue to look at when it comes
5 to race. Even though race shouldn't be the sole factor, it is
6 the one man-one vote issue can be addressed in a district such
7 as this, where you do have an overwhelming number of people who
8 are people of color, primarily Latinos, who live along many of
9 these border communities.
10 My father, now my brother, are Council Members in
11 National City, and that is a very similar district, very similar
12 city to the district that I represent, and where you do have
13 heavy Latino and bilingual populations. You do have many kids
14 on school lunch programs. You do have many people that are on
15 Welfare and that need help. You do have many people who need
16 Medicare and Medi-Cal health and the Healthy Families assistance
17 programs, as you do in Calexico and El Centro. You also need
18 those in San Ysidro and National City and Chula Vista. Many
19 issues that are of interest.
20 I think also in regards to faith, the majority of
21 the people there are either Catholic or Baptist, and you do have
22 many churches that do help to organize the different concerns
23 that communities may have, whether it's putting up a stop
24 signal, or whether it's closing down a liquor store. These are
25 issues that are addressed by many of the black Baptist churches
26 as well as by many of the Catholic churches in our districts, in
27 our areas, which are represented by Latinos.
28 And then finally, Mr. Chair, I would add that
9
1 many of these areas have voting patterns which are very, very
2 similar. If you look at the propositions, and many of the
3 oppositions towards 187 or towards 209, or if you look at the
4 fact that they vote Democrat for most part, the areas along the
5 areas I'm talking are Democrat.
6 The majority of the elected officials are
7 Democrat in the City of Chula Vista, in the City of National
8 City, in the City of Imperial Beach, many of the elected
9 officials from the Imperial Valley, and myself, currently our
10 Assembly Member, our State Senator are Democrats. So, I think
11 that's another issue to look at in terms of voting patterns.
12 So, I just wanted to come here to thank all of
13 you, to give you some input in regards to what we think might be
14 an appropriate Senate seat, and that would be something that
15 would start from the north at Golden Hill; to the west, the
16 Imperial Beach area; and that would take us all the way to the
17 Arizona-California border; with the south, of course, being the
18 U.S.-Mexico border.
19 I don't quite have the lines, or the streets, or
20 the different natural corridors worked out, but I just was
21 trying to give you an idea of what I think would be a fair and
22 just thing to do for our region.
23 CHAIRMAN PERATA: That's very helpful, thank you.
24 COUNCIL MEMBER INZUNZA: Thank you very much.
25 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Our next, has the Mayor of
26 Escondido arrived?
27 Then Larry Grogan, who is Mayor Pro Tem of the El
28 Centro City Council.
10
1 COUNCIL MEMBER GROGAN: My name is Larry Grogan.
2 I am the Mayor Pro Tem for the City of El Centro. I'm here to
3 speak on behalf of actions taken by our city for the
4 redistricting that is currently in progress.
5 Mr. Chairman and Members of the distinguished
6 panel, I would like to begin by saying I appreciate the
7 opportunity to come before you and lay out, as much as I can,
8 our commonality with San Diego.
9 To begin with, let's take a look at our schools.
10 Our CIF association is with San Diego. When we played to the
11 north, Indio and the Coachella Valley, they did not wish to come
12 down to El Centro to play.
13 Also we have a San Diego State University, the
14 Calexico campus. We are also connected with the UCSD, with the
15 San Diego Connect, which is a form of enterprise entrepreneurial
16 organization that hopefully will bring some industry to an area
17 that has chronically suffered from unemployment as high as 20 to
18 30 percent.
19 Our churches, the Catholic Diocese of San Diego
20 services Imperial County, as well as House of Hope. Other
21 organizations are: American Cancer Society, American Heart
22 Association, American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Club, Boy Scouts
23 of America, Girl Scouts of San Diego and Imperial County,
24 Kiwanis, Lions International, Rotary International, March of
25 Dimes.
26 Labor organizations: AFL-CIO for San Diego and
27 Imperial Counties.
28 Medical services. Many of our doctors come from
11
1 San Diego as well as nurses, and they reciprocate back and
2 forth. Our San Diego Blood Bank services the area. We do
3 fundraisers for the Children's Hospital, which receives those
4 children in need of more urgent care than what we can provide
5 there in El Centro Regional Medical Center. Our own hospital is
6 seeking funds for a heliport for more rapid transit to San
7 Diego. We do not transport to the north. The many referrals
8 from our local doctors for specialized treatment, they are
9 always to the west or to the L.A. area. El Central Regional
10 Medical Center, of which I serve as ex-officio member on the
11 board, belongs to the Health Care Association of San Diego and
12 Imperial Counties.
13 The media. The only major newspaper that is
14 delivered to Imperial County, other than our own Imperial Valley
15 Press, is the San Diego Union. The public television is from
16 KPBS from San Diego State.
17 Our transportation is serviced by Caltrans from
18 the San Diego District Office. One of the most important goals
19 that we have for economic development is the re-establishment of
20 the railroad line between Imperial County and the San Diego
21 Port. We have a major industrial center that we are trying to
22 develop called Gateway. And it is my belief that if this is
23 going to be a success, we must have rail service from Arizona,
24 Mexico, New Mexico, Texas, coming directly through and to the
25 San Diego Port without having to go up to the north through L.A.
26 County, and then back down. We have the facilities that would
27 lend themselves to a major container facility. We have plenty
28 of land, which is lacking, let's say, in the Port area. And it
12
1 would only be an hour-and-a-half, two hours away from the actual
2 port.
3 We have -- the firm that we have for the City of
4 El Centro, which is a lobbying firm called the Wilson Group of
5 San Diego. They represent us. I'm sure some of you may have
6 heard of them.
7 The Chamber of Commerce, which has members of 816
8 members, and that is up from a year ago of 667. Many of these
9 members have dual businesses both in Imperial County and in San
10 Diego County.
11 So, if there's anything I want to stress it's
12 that we are almost and historically linked to San Diego. It's
13 almost like the child and the umbilical cord. It may have been
14 separated, but we still have that connection.
15 And I'd also like to add that we have in many
16 ways the commonality of border problems, that when they cut
17 down, or they make a big push in the San Diego area on the
18 immigration issues, we feel that impact in Imperial County.
19 I'll give you an example.
20 Our hospital, which is a small, regional
21 hospital, we write off approximately $3 million in uncollected
22 fees. Much of this is from illegal immigration that has kind of
23 been pushed to the north or to the east by actions here in San
24 Diego County. And so, it's not that it is completely unique,
25 and San Diego, of course, has their problems too, and we work on
26 these things together, but I just use that as an example of the
27 actions that are done here, and how they react there, and the
28 price that we end up paying.
13
1 San Diego is also tied to us by their future.
2 San Diego, it's my understanding, is limited as to their
3 industrial land for the future. And yet, we have down in the
4 Imperial Valley the water surplus, which certainly San Diego is
5 going to look to try to make some accommodation to receive,
6 because it certainly will limit their growth.
7 The power that San Diego is now going to receive
8 sometime in the future, a 650 megawatt plant, which Sempra
9 Energy is building in Mexico, is just across the border from us
10 in Imperial County. We will receive that air quality
11 degradation caused by probably that power plant, which is only
12 about 12 miles west of Mexicali.
13 So, we have both an opportunity to solve some
14 problems as far as water that would benefit San Diego, but we
15 are looking for, obviously, something in return. And that way,
16 I think, is that if we're going to have this marriage in the
17 future, we would like the representation with San Diego so that
18 at least we can work on these things together.
19 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you, Mayor.
20 COUNCIL MEMBER GROGAN: Oh, by the way, I did
21 want to mention that we did have a City Resolution on May 16th
22 that was voted in favor of going to the west. And on May 2nd,
23 the Executive Board from the El Centro Chamber of Commerce
24 passed a resolution to go to the west. On May 21st, the Board
25 of Directors voted to go to the west.
26 And I have not seen Mr. Kuiper here, but the
27 Imperial County Board of Supervisors did take a stand after a
28 public hearing of voting to go to the west.
14
1 CHAIRMAN PERATA: It would be helpful if you
2 could send us those resolutions.
3 COUNCIL MEMBER GROGAN: That will be done.
4 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you, sir.
5 Yes, Mayor Pfeiler, I understand you have arrived
6 from Escondido.
7 MAYOR PFEILER: Good afternoon. I'm Lori Holt
8 Pfeiler, Mayor for the City of Escondido.
9 I just wanted to come down and talk about the
10 community interest between Escondido and Oceanside. Oceanside's
11 along the coast, and we're both along the Highway 78 corridor.
12 And Oceanside and Escondido were both
13 incorporated in October of 1888. And so, we have always been a
14 North County, which is separate -- a part of San Diego County,
15 but separate from San Diego City.
16 My grandpa used to talk about Escondido being on
17 the way out of the county, but there's always been an identity
18 and a place called North County.
19 And it has, as time has passed, the corridor
20 along Highway 78 has become connected with the establishment of
21 the City of Vista and San Marcos. And we have grown
22 tremendously along that Highway 78 corridor.
23 There are more residents that travel east and
24 west on that corridor than travel north or south to get to work.
25 Our school districts and water districts are
26 entwined and connected throughout the corridor. And as cities,
27 we have wrestled with the issues of siting landfills, and now we
28 talk about trying to site power plants together.
15
1 Our Convention and Visitors Bureau markets North
2 County as a destination, and that seems natural to us because
3 that's where we work and play, along that corridor.
4 We're always frustrated when we have
5 redistricting and we're divided from the coast. Inland North
6 County and, quote, "Coastal" North County get divided sometimes,
7 and it doesn't make any sense to us. There's a lot of traffic
8 between that corridor. It has one of most heavily used bus
9 corridors along that in -- San Diego County is in that, along
10 that corridor. More people get on and off. There are more
11 activities going between us. That is where we work and play,
12 and there is a lot of common interest between the Highway 78
13 corridor, coastal Oceanside and inland Escondido.
14 I just wanted to share that perspective with you.
15 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you. We appreciate it.
16 Supervisor Horn.
17 You brought your own visual aids.
18 SUPERVISOR HORN: Well, since I just got through
19 doing this, I thought you'd like our map.
20 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Welcome.
21 SUPERVISOR HORN: I think I brought you a draft
22 plan. That's the revised one. This is one we settled on.
23 CHAIRMAN PERATA: You've adopted it already?
24 SUPERVISOR HORN: We just have a second reading
25 to go through and it'll be adopted.
26 So, basically, the changes were, in North San
27 Diego County, our goal at the Board of Supervisors was not to
28 cut up the city -- the City of Carlsbad was cut in half
16
1 before -- but to leave the cities whole, and to leave the
2 planning areas basically whole as much as possible, while
3 meeting the Voting Rights Act.
4 And so, District One, which is down in South Bay,
5 had to move forward. Gained about 40,000 people.
6 District Four had to more northward. It had to
7 gain close to 72,000 people.
8 District Three had to lose about 61,000 people.
9 My district is District Five. I had to lose
10 74,000 people.
11 So basically, the north portion of the county has
12 had the lion's share of growth over the last ten years. So,
13 that's how we divided it up.
14 Years ago, Carlsbad was divided in half. I
15 personally think that was purposefully done to prevent Mayor
16 Lewis from becoming the Supervisor.
17 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Shocking.
18 SUPERVISOR HORN: Yeah, I know.
19 Anyway, our goal was not to do that again. And
20 so basically, I had to give up the city, so I took Escondido out
21 and put it on the I-15 corridor. We basically built my district
22 on two corridors: the 78 corridor and the 15 corridor.
23 Supervisor Roberts' district came up. You see
24 the blue line, and I'll give you a map. Those are his new
25 district.
26 But our primary purpose was not to divide up
27 cities, except for the City of San Diego, and to keep areas in
28 common together and areas of interest together. And to keep,
17
1 as far as the County goes, the unincorporated area, to keep
2 planning groups as much as possible together. We did achieve
3 that.
4 Basically, as far as the demographics go, and I
5 think maybe I brought your chart, in my district, I have such a
6 well balanced district that none of my population basically
7 changed more than two percent, to be honest with you. And my
8 district, because it's growing so much, has a deviance or
9 deviation of minus three percent. And the total redistricting
10 has a six percent deviation. And my district has about three
11 percent less than the rest; I will catch up with them in a
12 year-and-a-half. And that was kind of our purpose in doing
13 that.
14 So, I'll give you the stats. Here's the numbers.
15 But I have such an even Hispanic population that my numbers,
16 even if I pulled one city out, they didn't change less than
17 two-and-a-half percent. So, I'll leave you that.
18 We felt -- we had a panel which we were not
19 allowed to speak with until they presented their results. After
20 that, didn't feel -- I felt one of the maps came close, but not
21 close enough. It left me with too much population. I had a
22 seven percent overdeviation. Of any district in the county
23 that shouldn't have an overdeviation would be mine, because I'm
24 going to grow the most. So, we basically came up with those
25 maps.
26 So, I'll leave you the maps, and this, and be
27 happy to answer any questions, if you have any.
28 SENATOR ALPERT: So then basically, you used the
18
1 principle that keeping the city together was of paramount
2 importance --
3 SUPERVISOR HORN: For us, yes.
4 SENATOR ALPERT: -- in your design of your area.
5 I mean, again, as we begin to look, that would be
6 a principle that you would think that we should be --
7 SUPERVISOR HORN: I think as long as it can --
8 the overriding thing is the Voter Rights Act. I mean, we have
9 to do that.
10 But I think cities of interest are important, and
11 I think planning areas, like in the unincorporated area of
12 Spring Valley. That had been represented by three supervisors.
13 It now is going to be represented by one supervisor.
14 The same with the City of Carlsbad. One of two
15 supervisors in the last go around. This time it will be only
16 one supervisor.
17 So, I realize the lines look a little jaggedy,
18 and they may not be perfect, but we preferred that than to
19 straight lines that cut up areas, and cut up school districts,
20 and cut up water districts. We thought it was more important to
21 keep areas of interest together as much as possible.
22 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Did Escondido end up --
23 SUPERVISOR HORN: Escondido's in District Three.
24 CHAIRMAN PERATA: -- with Oceanside?
25 SUPERVISOR HORN: No, it's Rancho Bernardo,
26 Rancho Penasquitos, Saber Springs, Tierra Santa, the I-15
27 corridor.
28 CHAIRMAN PERATA: She's going to be disappointed.
19
1 SUPERVISOR HORN: She was. That's all right.
2 She's always going to be a North County city. Don't worry,
3 we'll take care of her.
4 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Any other questions.
5 Thank you, Supervisor. It's very helpful.
6 SUPERVISOR HORN: I'll leave all that.
7 CHAIRMAN PERATA: We appreciate that, thanks.
8 Here's a familiar name, Denise Moreno Ducheny.
9 Yes, a familiar looking person, too.
10 Denise is a former Member of the Assembly, but
11 more importantly, was the former Chair of the Budget Committee.
12 It hasn't been the same since she left.
13 ASSEMBLY MEMBER DUCHENY: I was pleased to see
14 you actually got a budget yesterday.
15 CHAIRMAN PERATA: We were pleased, too.
16 ASSEMBLY MEMBER DUCHENY: I'm so glad that you
17 were able to be here today. We were a little concerned that you
18 would have to postpone it again.
19 Thank you very much, and thank you for coming to
20 San Diego to hold these hearings.
21 I really mostly wanted to add, and I think you've
22 heard some of it today, but I wanted to talk in part about South
23 County San Diego, some of the communities there, as well as this
24 question of the border community of interest.
25 I think that over the last ten years or so, more
26 so since the last redistricting, there has been, with the result
27 of NAFTA, with some other things that have occurred, it has
28 become increasingly clear -- and there was some discussion about
20
1 this I know way back in '91 as well -- but it's now increasingly
2 clear that we have issues that are very common to the border
3 areas.
4 We have truck crossings. We have air quality
5 issues. We have water quality issues. We have work that all of
6 us, both in San Diego County and in Imperial County, are doing
7 with Mexico in a variety of ways. We're working on joint
8 efforts together for energy, for air quality, for water quality,
9 because all of us increasingly realize that we're really a
10 region in a different kind of sense of the word.
11 And our region includes Tijuana and Mexicali,
12 Tecati, and areas on the other side of the border. Because for
13 us, for instance, in San Diego and Tijuana, the issues of an air
14 shed and watershed actually cross the international boundary.
15 And so, to the extent that we are dealing with
16 those kinds of issues, and building the relationships that we
17 need to do in this area for that, for purposes of working on
18 those border issues, increasingly we find ourselves both back
19 and forth along the entire length of the border.
20 As Mr. Grogan stated, one of the big issues
21 that's been out for some years, on which we've all been working
22 from both ends, on building a train, re-establishing a train
23 link that actually came from 1910 or so. John Spreckles built
24 the train route, and the train crosses the border and goes out.
25 It is the only east-west route that would allow San Diego, for
26 instance, to not ship as much directly to Los Angeles.
27 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Is that still active, Denise?
28 ASSEMBLY MEMBER DUCHENY: It's active in some
21
1 ways, but not all the way through. We need to -- there was a
2 collapse sometime ago, and somebody needs to do the investment
3 to do it. And there's been a lot of tricky parts of getting
4 that reopened that have partly to do with the fact that the rail
5 line crosses the border. And there was a different entity that
6 was in charge, and there were some efforts to bid it out.
7 But it's back on track, I think, a little bit.
8 And there's been a lot of talk. It's the only way we can kind
9 of get out of the cul-de-sac and send things to Chicago, or to
10 Mexico City. It's also true for Ensenada and Tijuana, and it's
11 true for the agricultural products coming back from -- that need
12 to be shipped to Asia, or where ever, from the Imperial Valley
13 and Mexicali Valley as well.
14 It's the kind of example -- and historically, San
15 Diego and Imperial Counties were one county until 1907, when
16 Imperial County separated and became this independent county.
17 If you recall the '80s, there was an Assembly district that was
18 of cross border Assembly districts. Senator Peace's original
19 Assembly district was aligned that way.
20 And I think with all of the issues, border health
21 issues -- I mean, many of you are aware of the legislation I
22 carried on border health issues -- and all of those things, were
23 always joint efforts between the two counties.
24 The counties meet regularly now, and we have
25 Legislators that are meeting regularly from both sides of the
26 border. We have, as Councilman Grogan mentioned, we have the
27 Caltrans District, which is all one district.
28 We have San Diego State University. We find
22
1 increasingly more and more students, you know, the university of
2 first choice, really, from the Valley is to come to San Diego
3 State. San Diego State has a campus out there also, and
4 possibly an additional campus soon. We have a San
5 Diego-Imperial Counties Community College District. We have a
6 San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council.
7 All of us have traditionally worked together in
8 ways that we think ought to be considered, and that we ought to
9 really take a look at the question of the border being a
10 community of interest.
11 With respect directly to the South Bay, I want to
12 support some of the comments that Councilman Inzunza made.
13 Chula Vista, National City, Otay Mesa, San Ysidro, and the San
14 Diego communities like Paradise Hills that are really in the
15 south part of the county really relate to each other. Paradise
16 Hills is a small community next door to National City, even
17 though it's in the City of San Diego. Physically, it's sort of
18 surrounded by other communities.
19 San Ysidro, obviously, is the City of San Diego,
20 but it's part of the South Bay community as a border area.
21 Imperial Beach shares the border and some of the
22 water issues. The Tijuana River Valley watershed goes into
23 Imperial, you know, out through Imperial Beach's area.
24 We have always held for many years that Logan
25 Heights, Sherman Heights, Golden Hill communities of San Diego
26 are very much united in a variety of ways. As the Councilman
27 described, they've been united in that council district for many
28 years, and continue to share both demographics, development
23
1 projects, and other things that are important.
2 I have represented other communities here that I
3 think, you know, you all have to really kind of look at all the
4 maps. There's a lot of shifting in how you do this. There are
5 a variety of ways to look at it.
6 But we think all of those areas certainly go
7 together. Whatever those numbers come out to be, there are
8 other areas, obviously, adjacent, some of which are inner-city
9 areas that are also -- certainly have some things in common.
10 But as a core, those areas of the South Bay, and many of the
11 border areas, have just so much in common, we just wanted to
12 ensure that you were made aware of that kind of community of
13 interest, which isn't sort of readily apparent just by looking
14 at a map, or looking at the sort of freeway alignments. And
15 some of those kind of things are not necessarily what creates
16 the communities of interest in terms of issues.
17 And I know while I was in the Legislature,
18 because I represented San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, I found myself
19 frequently dealing with Imperial County, because the issues were
20 the same, and that there was need, in fact, to make those
21 parallel.
22 We have two truck crossings; they're similar
23 truck crossings. They have similar kinds of issues. Border
24 health issues are obviously common, and those kinds of areas.
25 Thank you. That's my main one. I'm happy to
26 answer any questions.
27 I actually would also sort of footnote, it's not
28 my neighborhood, but I think Mayor Pfeiler's comments, if you
24
1 look at what's happening with the demographics in North County,
2 it's the fastest growing part of our county, no question. But
3 the Oceanside-Escondido rail corridor, you know, there is a new
4 -- we just got funding in this county for a light rail corridor
5 along there.
6 And there are certainly some commonalities
7 between those communities that I think the Committee ought to
8 also take a look at with Escondido and Vista.
9 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you.
10 ASSEMBLY MEMBER DUCHENY: Senator Alpert can tell
11 you about the rest of the county.
12 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you, Denise. Good to see
13 you, and we appreciate it.
14 ASSEMBLY MEMBER DUCHENY: Thank you very much.
15 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Next I'd like to ask the
16 Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans for Fair Redistricting to
17 come forward.
18 Welcome.
19 MR. SHOGREN: Thank you. Do we have a time
20 limit?
21 CHAIRMAN PERATA: About twenty minutes.
22 Would you introduce yourselves individually when
23 you speak so we can have it for the record.
24 MR. SHOGREN: Good afternoon. Andrew Shogren,
25 S-h-o-g-r-e-n.
26 I'd like to thank Senator Perata and the
27 Committee for holding these hearings, and I'd like to commend
28 both the Committee and the Legislature for gathering this
25
1 community input, and hopefully making it a very significant part
2 of this redistricting process.
3 As I said, my name is Andrew Shogren, and I'm
4 testifying on behalf of the Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans
5 for Fair Redistricting, or CAPAFR, of San Diego.
6 I currently serve as the Government Affairs Chair
7 for the Asian Business Association of San Diego, Mayor Murphy's
8 Asian Pacific Islander Citizen's Advisory Board, and other
9 community organizations.
10 CAPAFR San Diego is a diverse coalition of Asian
11 and Pacific Islander Americans. We have been meeting since last
12 summer, and with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, APALC,
13 we have formed a network of individuals and organizations in San
14 Diego. These include the Asian Business Association, the
15 Pacific Islander Festival Association, the Southwest Center for
16 Asian Pacific American Law, the Center of Policy Initiatives,
17 and others.
18 At APALC, the redistricting work has been guided
19 by two principles. One, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires
20 Legislators to redistrict in such a manner that does not dilute
21 minority voter populations.
22 And two, the Legislature can and should balance
23 many factors, such as one person-one vote mandate, race,
24 communities of interest, party registration, compactness,
25 contiguity, and incumbency in redeveloping the redistricting
26 plans.
27 Throughout the state, APALC has dialogued with
28 APIA community leaders, and one resounding concern was that our
26
1 communities have too often been served up on the chopping block
2 of redistricting in the past. Like the Los Angeles Latino
3 population in the Garza case in the 1980s, the Asian Pacific
4 Islander communities have suffered disenfranchisement and lack
5 of political representation as a result of this fracturing.
6 Our presence in this round of redistricting is to
7 ensure that our communities do not suffer the same fate in this
8 decade.
9 As part of the CAPAFR San Diego group since its
10 inception last summer, many of the members of the organizations
11 have participated and learned about the law and the process of
12 redistricting. Armed with that knowledge, we have been meeting
13 to look carefully at the San Diego region's demographic
14 communities of interest and political interests to figure out
15 where the Asian Pacific Islander American communities are in San
16 Diego.
17 We have also been trying to identify goals
18 through redistricting that would protect the Voting Rights of
19 all minority communities, while respecting communities of
20 interest in San Diego, keeping together cities, areas,
21 neighborhoods, and communities that share interests, not limited
22 to race.
23 What I'd like to do is share with you some of my
24 knowledge of the San Diego region. And I hope you do take this
25 input into account and listen to the following three issues.
26 First and foremost, we ask that you enforce the
27 Voting Rights Act, and be cognizant of minority interests in
28 redistricting. As we all know, while race cannot be the
27
1 predominant factor in redistricting, it can be a factor balanced
2 with all other factors. In fact, considering race is necessary
3 to making sure you don't split or pack minority votes into
4 districts.
5 To enforce the Voting Rights Act, we urge that
6 you seriously consider our community's input, and the interests
7 of Latino and African American communities throughout the state
8 in identifying where the communities are located and what their
9 interests are.
10 Second, we ask that you keep our communities
11 whole. We urge you to learn about and respect the boundaries
12 of cohesive minority communities, and not split our communities
13 across multiple Assembly districts.
14 Third, we ask that you respect our communities
15 of interest. We are equally concerned that communities of
16 interest be held together as well as minority communities.
17 In addition to identifying where San Diego's
18 Asian and Pacific Islander American communities are, I'd like to
19 share some of our discussions with you about our interests and
20 concerns, and what other areas and communities in San Diego we
21 feel we have something in common with. We urge you to respect
22 these community interests and unite us with other areas in the
23 region with which we share these interests.
24 These Asian and Pacific Islander American
25 communities are part of San Diego, our history in the region.
26 These area connections would and should be kept together.
27 By far, the largest Asian and Pacific Islander
28 American community in South Bay is the Filipino American
28
1 community. There are Filipino Americans in several parts of
2 this area traditionally called South Bay: National City,
3 Paradise Hills, Chula Vista, Bonita, East Lake, Nestor, San
4 Ysidro, and Imperial Beach.
5 San Diego's Filipino American community is large
6 due in part to the historic presence of the military here. Many
7 Filipinos and their families originally came to the United
8 States because they joined the U.S. military. National City is
9 in some respects the commercial and cultural center of the
10 Filipino American community.
11 Our goals are as follows first, we urge you to
12 keep the City of Chula Vista whole and in one Assembly district.
13 Though traditional redistricting principles emphasize keeping
14 cities whole, the City of Chula Vista is currently divided into
15 two Assembly districts. This is an opportunity to join Chula
16 Vista into one Assembly district.
17 Second, we urge you to unite the areas
18 traditionally considered to be the South Bay. This would mean
19 making Chula Vista whole, and uniting it with other South Bay
20 identified areas. This would not only ensure that the cohesive
21 Asian Pacific Islander American community of South Bay is
22 united, but just as importantly, it would also unify into one
23 district the communities in this area that share interests and
24 identity of the South Bay. The South Bay identity is oriented
25 to the western part of San Diego, the most diverse and urban
26 part of San Diego.
27 We urge you to respect the boundaries of this
28 community and hold these areas together in one district.
29
1 Thank you very much for your time.
2 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you.
3 MR. SY: Good afternoon. My name is Levin Sy.
4 I'm a resident of Mira Mesa, and a proud constituent of Senator
5 Alpert, and also a member of CAPAFR San Diego.
6 I'm a board member of the Southwest Center for
7 Asian Pacific American Law, a nonprofit legal service
8 organization based in National City, dedicated to providing
9 legal services to indigent residents of the area.
10 Andrew's given you an overview of what our
11 interests are in the County of San Diego. I wanted to talk
12 specifically about some of these communities that we've been
13 mentioning.
14 This redistricting effort for the Assembly, State
15 Senate, and Congressional lines will hopefully rectify many of
16 the divisions our communities face. One of the most glaring is
17 in my neighborhood of Mira Mesa. We're split up in Assembly
18 districts and also in State Senate districts. And we hope,
19 given the communities of interest that lie there, that that
20 community will be made whole.
21 Mira Mesa's a relatively new suburb, with the
22 bulk of its construction built to serve the military community
23 right next to it, the Miramar Air Station. The economy is
24 dominated by the presence of the military and its station, but
25 in years, the growth of the high tech and bio tech industries in
26 the Sorrento Valley has also caused a lot of population increase
27 in the area.
28 The community of Mira Mesa, though, has remained
30
1 a cohesive one. Mira Mesa's bounded by a natural boundary to
2 the north, the Rancho Penasquitos Canyon Reserve; to the west by
3 the 805 Freeway; to the east by the I-15 corridor; and to the
4 south by the Miramar Air Station.
5 We believe this community is cohesive not only
6 for the fact that many of the Filipino Americans, representing
7 46 percent of that neighborhood's total, are in that area, but
8 because organized groups, such as city-recognized Mira Mesa Town
9 Council, the Mira Mesa Planning Group are also in that area and
10 recognize those boundaries as well.
11 One of the neighborhoods to the south of Mira
12 Mesa which we feel we've had a lot of issues related to
13 communities of interest is the community of Linda Vista.
14 Filipinos were brought to San Diego by the military because they
15 were recruited to serve our country. Vietnamese Americans came
16 here as refugees, and many settled in the Linda Vista area. As
17 time progressed, they moved on to join communities such as Mira
18 Mesa and Rancho Penasquitos to the north.
19 Though many Vietnamese Americans have moved from
20 Linda Vista, it still remains a commercial and social core of
21 the Vietnamese American community and Asian American community.
22 Many ask, where is the China Town in San Diego?
23 As Senator Alpert will tell you, it's along Convoy and
24 Clairemont. That's where you will find our dim sum shops --
25 CHAIRMAN PERATA: She says that frequently.
26 [Laughter.]
27 MR. SY: That's where you'll find our dim sum
28 shops, our Vietnamese restaurants, and also our churches are
31
1 community-based organizations, and many of the organizations
2 that are important to the civic life of the Asian Pacific
3 American community.
4 Just to give you some numbers, Mira Mesa's total
5 population as a neighborhood is 70,000, and Asian Pacific
6 Islander Americans represent nearly 30,000 of that 70,000.
7 In Rancho Penasquitos to the north, 49,000
8 residents comprise the community, and Asian Pacific Americans
9 make up 28 percent of that area.
10 In Linda Vista, almost 25,000 people comprise the
11 neighborhood of Linda Vista, and Asian Pacific Americans make up
12 26 percent of that neighborhood.
13 We're here today to urge you to recognize our
14 communities of interest based on patterns of social interaction,
15 issues such as transportation. The I-15, the 805 corridor,
16 provide a lot of transportation links to job corridors, like
17 those in Mira Mesa and Sorrento Valley. And there's residential
18 neighbors in between. Any time you go to Mira Mesa during rush
19 hour, you will know that the bulk of their traffic going from
20 east to west goes through our community, and we feel those are
21 issues of concern, not just for Asian Pacific Americans, but for
22 the neighborhood as a whole.
23 Other members of CAPAFR San Diego will speak to
24 you about the South Bay.
25 But one thing that we have in common throughout
26 the City and the County of San Diego, and we hope you will take
27 with you today as draw the Assembly, the Board of Equalization,
28 State Senate, and Congressional lines, is that there is a
32
1 significant population of Asian Pacific Americans in the County
2 of San Diego. We are geographically compact. We form
3 communities of interest that should be respected.
4 Thank you.
5 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you.
6 MR. CHANTENGCO: Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman,
7 Senator Alpert, and Members of the Committee.
8 My name is J.R. Chantengco. The last name is
9 spelled C-h-a-n-t-e-n-g-c-o. I am the former Vice President of
10 the San Diego County Commercial Association of Realtors. I'm
11 also a founding member of the Asian Business Association. I'm a
12 member of the Southwestern College Foundation Board, a member of
13 the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce, and there is one other
14 thing.
15 Yes, Governor Gray Davis just recently appointed
16 me to the California Housing Partnership Corporation. I'm the
17 first API person in San Diego to be appointed to this spot. So,
18 I take it upon myself to, at times, talk about the importance of
19 housing and education, which is so vital, not only to our
20 community, the Asian Pacific Islander community, but also to the
21 community at large, I think, in the way business and commerce is
22 traded. And you'll see in our community the opportunities of
23 housing and those options.
24 You'll find that the City of Chula Vista along
25 with the City of National City, City of San Diego, which
26 encompasses Paradise Hills, and South San Diego encompassing San
27 Ysidro, Nestor, and Imperial Beach, are all part of what we
28 call, what is known as the South Bay community. In this
33
1 community, you have vibrant housing opportunities, but you also
2 have the type of people that live in the community that also are
3 looking at the educational opportunities.
4 We have Sweetwater Unified High School District,
5 the second largest in the state. And one of our own members,
6 Arlie Recosta, who is a member of CAPAFR, could not be here with
7 us today to speak, but she would tell you that we draw lines in
8 education. And you'll see that one of the opportunities is the
9 community college district of Southwestern College.
10 Southwestern College happens to be in the City of San Diego, but
11 you'll draw students from most of the South Bay: the City of
12 National City, Paradise Hills, South San Diego. So, this
13 becomes a feeder to the secondary four-year college education.
14 And in fact, as a result of dialogue with the
15 City of National City and Chula Vista, they formed what was
16 called the Synergy School. The Synergy School is a
17 collaboration of the City of, again, Chula Vista and National
18 City along the lines of crossing the education opportunities for
19 the students in this area. And we think that's an important
20 community of interest because of the educational opportunities
21 that Synergy School will present.
22 These are the two important issues, I think, that
23 I see represent -- that are facing the South Bay, that I hope
24 that you would consider in keeping these communities of interest
25 whole.
26 Again, the Voter Rights Act, not diluting our
27 community, but in fact, trying to enhance and better leverage
28 these resources. I think we share common goals, and there's a
34
1 commonality in where we live and where we go to school. And I
2 think if we can try to maintain these lines of interest
3 together, keeping them whole, then you will preserve and go a
4 long way in keeping this cohesive atmosphere.
5 I think it's important, especially in the Senate,
6 as we look at issues of shared resources, of water,
7 infrastructure, housing, and of course education. And
8 hopefully, this will all tie into the business and commerce. I
9 know how we sit on the Pacific Rim. And in the Pacific Rim,
10 we're touched on -- we have Mexico to the south, and with the
11 Pacific Rim we have many of the Asian countries to the west of
12 us.
13 I think you'll find that our community in South
14 Bay is perhaps the most diverse of any region you'll ever come
15 across. So, keeping these communities of interest whole, we
16 would consider as very vital and pivotal to ensuring that the
17 communities stay together, and we will continue to work and play
18 together.
19 Thank you very much.
20 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you.
21 MS. CRUZ: Good afternoon. My name is Marie
22 Cruz, spelled C-r-u-z.
23 I am a member of CAPAFR and also the President of
24 the Pacific Islander Festival Association, which we just had our
25 annual event in the City of Chula Vista and brought over 100,000
26 people for that weekend to that city. It's a cultural event and
27 attracts at least 100,000 people to the city.
28 We've been having it in San Diego, but we moved
35
1 our venue this year.
2 I've just recently been appointed to the San
3 Diego Mayor's API Advisory Council. I sit on the API Board for
4 the San Diego Chief of Police. I'm a member in several
5 different Pacific Islander community groups. I'm also active
6 with the Point Loma Peninsula Republican Women's Group.
7 I came here in 1949 with my father and family
8 from Guam. So consequently, I've got to see a lot of growth in
9 this area. If it wasn't for the Navy, we wouldn't be here, but
10 you do have a very large community of Pacific Islanders as well
11 as Asian Pacific Islanders.
12 I wanted to take this opportunity to state my
13 support for the principles that we have been articulating by
14 those who preceded me, and also urge you to enforce the Voting
15 Rights Act.
16 And please, do not divide our communities, our
17 African American, our Latino communities, or otherwise dilute
18 our voices. We are very concerned that the idea of one
19 person-one vote is actually realized for the Asian and Pacific
20 Islander American person communities.
21 Please allow the input of the Asian Pacific
22 Islander American, Latino, and African American communities to
23 be meaningful by truly considering it when you redraw the
24 district lines.
25 Thank you very much for allowing me to present
26 this to you today.
27 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you. Any questions?
28 MR. SHOGREN: Levin will close for us.
36
1 CHAIRMAN PERATA: You've got a closing too?
2 We're going to be in San Jose tomorrow.
3 [Laughter.]
4 MR. SHOGREN: There'll be more of us there, I'm
5 sure.
6 [Laughter.]
7 MR. SY: In closing, the Coalition of Asian
8 Pacific Americans for Fair Redistricting urge you to respect the
9 integrity of our communities in the northern part of the city,
10 in the neighborhoods of Rancho Penasquitos, Mira Mesa, and Linda
11 Vista, and also the communities in the South Bay: Paradise
12 Hills, Nestor, Chula Vista, and National City. Keep them whole
13 and united in their communities.
14 Our primary concern is to preserve the shared
15 interest of these communities, and to protect them from being
16 divided into multiple districts. We hope that you will
17 seriously consider this input in determining whether our
18 communities, and San Diego's communities of interest, are to
19 keep united in one district.
20 We live, we shop, we worship in these
21 communities. Non-Asian Americans also recognize these
22 neighborhoods to be Asian Pacific American neighborhoods, and we
23 hope that you'll consider that in this process.
24 Thank you.
25 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you for the presentation.
26 I appreciate it.
27 Richard Babcock and Guadalupe Corona, please.
28 MR. BABCOCK: It's not a joint presentation.
37
1 CHAIRMAN PERATA: I'm sorry.
2 MR. BABCOCK: My name is Richard Amro Babcock,
3 and I'm representing the Latino Leadership Council.
4 I'm here today to urge the Legislature to draw an
5 urban district for the City of San Diego, which would include
6 the City of San Diego, San Ysidro, downtown San Diego,
7 Hillcrest, North Park, Barrio Logan, University Heights, Chula
8 Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, Southeast San Diego,
9 mid-city, Paradise Hills.
10 This region includes communities that share
11 several interests. First, the communities have similar economic
12 interests and face the same infrastructure challenges, including
13 housing and transportation.
14 I know it had talked about, at one time, or
15 there's still talk about a border district. One of the issues
16 that we definitely do not share with the Imperial Valley is,
17 they have an IID, we have Sempra Energy and San Diego Gas and
18 Electric, two totally different types of power companies, and
19 that's a major issue in this area right now, since we're ending
20 up buying energy from IID at real high prices.
21 The region is also ethnically diverse, with a
22 large Hispanic, Asian, and African American population. We all
23 share a rich history of working together. It should be rewarded
24 rather than splitting us apart into different legislative
25 districts.
26 It's also interesting that the local governments
27 already view these communities as a region. In education,
28 Sweetwater School District and Southwestern Community College
38
1 District represent most of this region.
2 In an attempt to build up this region's economy,
3 the South County Economic Development Council was formed.
4 Additionally, this legislative district makes
5 good government sense. It does not split cities and it is
6 compact. It does not cover hundreds of miles combining multiple
7 communities of interest.
8 In past reapportionments, this region has been
9 split. For example, in the 1980s and even now, Chula Vista's
10 split in half between two Assembly districts. In the '80s, it
11 was split with two Congressional districts, one that included
12 downtown San Diego, and the other included Point Loma, Coronado,
13 and the East County as well as the Imperial Valley.
14 I think it's important that we change our
15 thinking to look at a core, as some people have said, the last
16 groups said, a South Bay district, going from almost Interstate
17 8 to the border, to have that core urban district, because like
18 I said, we have a lot of the same economic interests.
19 There are some major differences between the
20 Imperial Valley and San Diego County. One is a rural,
21 agricultural county; one is a very urban, manufacturing
22 district. Those issues, I mean, if you just look at some of the
23 school issues. In the Imperial Valley, we have a number of
24 issues there with migrant farmworker children that don't present
25 itself in the South Bay here.
26 A major issue in the Imperial Valley is white
27 fly. Most people in San Diego wouldn't even know why that is,
28 unless it destroys their garden, but it is destroying the
39
1 agriculture out in the Imperial Valley.
2 So, those kinds of issues are major differences,
3 and we need to make sure that we do have an urban district here
4 in San Diego.
5 I want to thank you for your time and for
6 listening.
7 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you.
8 Guadalupe Corona, are you here? You are.
9 MS. CORONA: Good afternoon. My name is
10 Guadalupe Corona.
11 This is the first time I'm actually doing public
12 testimony.
13 CHAIRMAN PERATA: You're welcome.
14 MS. CORONA: So, thank you for the opportunity.
15 I come because I, as a public citizen, started
16 getting involved with some workshops that were offered through
17 MALDEF and the William C. Velazquez Institute, and I thought it
18 was important that I participate in this process as a citizen in
19 understanding how these changes are going to impact my
20 neighborhood, and the experiences that I have in society in
21 general.
22 I was born and raised in San Diego, so I'm a
23 system -- product of the educational system, an alumni from San
24 Diego State and University of San Diego. So, I understand the
25 common issues that we have terms of education.
26 I'm an educational advocate. I work with college
27 students, so I understand the necessity to have someone that can
28 understand our issues for our students.
40
1 Being in an immigrant community and a border
2 community, there's some very common needs that a person in this
3 position should understand. Having a district that better
4 represents those needs will better represent the citizens that
5 we live in this community.
6 Most of the co-chairs of the Latino-Latina Unity
7 Coalition, which is an advocacy group here in San Diego, do a
8 lot of advocacy work, so a lot of the issues that we deal with
9 are concerned with this region.
10 And I come before you to support a Senate
11 district that goes across the border, that better represents the
12 border community that I live in. Being a first generation
13 college student and immigrant experience as well, living
14 throughout the county, I understand the need to have someone
15 that understands the first generation and also immigrant
16 communities that are always evolving because of being a border
17 community.
18 As well as, our district needs to enforce the
19 Voting Rights Act. I understand there's some diversity
20 perspectives that need to be addressed. Please do not divide
21 our communities so that we do have a community that is well
22 represented, as well as our communities of interest. We have a
23 lot of communities that have common interests, not only Latinos,
24 but Asian, African American, and being the border community, we
25 have a lot of common needs in San Diego.
26 As well, please ensure that my testimony is
27 meaningful by truly considering it when you redraw the district
28 lines.
41
1 In closing, as a first generation immigrant to
2 this country, living at the border has kept me aware of the
3 constant needs to address issues that impact the community
4 regionally.
5 Redrawing the district that includes parts of
6 Imperial Beach, and extending the district across the southern
7 part of San Diego, will provide a stronger voice for our
8 community in better addressing our needs.
9 Thank you very much.
10 CHAIRMAN PERATA: Thank you for being here.
11 Gustavo Perez?
12 Is there anybody here that hasn't signed in that
13 was expecting, as a real citizen as opposed to those people in
14 the back?
15 Well, that concludes the hearing. I want to
16 thank all of you for being here.
17 Again, if you have any written information you'd
18 like to supply to the Committee, you may mail it to us.
19 Thanks very much. This hearing is adjourned.
20 [Thereupon this portion of the
21 hearing of the Senate Committee
22 on Elections and Reapportionment
23 was terminated at approximately
24 2:10 P.M.]
25 --ooOoo--
26
27
28
42
1 CERTIFICATE OF SHORTHAND REPORTER
2
3 I, EVELYN J. MIZAK, a Shorthand Reporter of the State
4 of California, do hereby certify:
5 That I am a disinterested person herein; that the
6 foregoing transcript of the hearing of the Senate Committee on
7 Elections and Reapportionment was reported verbatim in shorthand
8 by me, Evelyn J. Mizak, and thereafter transcribed into
9 typewriting.
10 I further certify that I am not of counsel or
11 attorney for any of the parties to said hearing, nor in any way
12 interested in the outcome of said hearing.
13 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
14 ______ day of __________________, 2001.
15
16
17
18
_______________________
19
EVELYN J. MIZAK
20 Shorthand Reporter
21
22
23
24 �
25 �
26 �
27 �
28
