Author: Clark Scally
The California state legislature redrew its district boundaries on Aug. 15 following the 2010 Census, moving Occidental College and the Eagle Rock neighborhood from the 44 State Assembly District to the 51 District. Eagle Rock will remain in the 21 senate district, but surrounding towns, such as Pasadena and San Marino, will not. This redistricting will cause Eagle Rock to have less representation in Sacramento, according the Eagle Rock Patch.
This redistricting of both the senate and assembly districts has caused the vast majority of Northeast Los Angeles to be merged with parts of East Los Angeles, one of the causes of Eagle Rock’s loss of representation. The change will also drastically alter the district’s demographics.
The redrawn 51 District, which includes Echo Park, part of western Silver Lake and East L.A., is home to 465,643 people. With approximately 72 percent of the residents being Hispanic, it’s the fifth most Hispanic district in California. Much of the 51st District is made up of “unincorporated Los Angeles,” meaning it’s not part of the city of Los Angeles but still under direct L.A. County jurisdiction.
The district boundaries were drawn by a citizens’ commission given authority by the voter-approved Voters FIRST ACT that was passed by voters recently. Supporters of the change hope that transferring authority from lawmakers interested in protecting their jobs to citizens interested in more competition and less partisanship would help break the stalemate politics in Sacramento.
The redistricting will not take effect until the 2012 election, where candidates will run within the new districts. This could cause issues, such as in the San Fernando Valley district where an incumbent will be running against another incumbent.
Some Republican lawmakers have pledged to challenge the new boundaries in court, arguing that the new districts displace current lawmakers from their home districts. Some analysts have concluded that the new boundaries may help Democrats gain more seats in the state congress.
Republicans have already backed an effort to collect the 500,000 signatures necessary to put a referendum to overturn the new districts on the ballot next November.
One main concern is that the new senate districts dilute Latino voting clout in the state.
Despite the controversy, the primary will take place on June 5, 2012, with a new open primary system. The voter-approved measure will allow the two candidates who receive the most votes to compete in the general election, even if they share party affiliation.
The general election for this position will then take place on Nov. 6, 2012.
The current front runner in the race for the 51 State Assembly District is Luis Lopez, a 38-year-old progressive Democrat.
“I feel very good about our prospects for the primaries,” Lopez said. “I was born in this district, I’ve served here all my life.”
The redistricting has depleted an already low number of Republicans in the 51 District.
“This is a heavily Democratic district,” Lopez said. “There may not even be a Republican on the ballot. They rarely even try to put a candidate up.”
There are between three and four thousand registered Republican voters in the 51 District.
One reason that Lopez remains confident is due to his superior donor support in comparison to the support for his opponents. Lopez, an openly gay man, also received official endorsements from the LGBT community.
Despite the lack of a Republican opponent, Lopez has two rival Democratic candidates. The only other candidate that has a website online as of press time is Oscar Gutierrez, a moderate Democrat focusing on state budget, safety issues and insurance reform.
Lopez is currently the Planning Commissioner of the East Area Planning Commission for the City of Los Angeles.
Prior to this, he served for four years as Co-Chair of the Neighborhood Council of Silver Lake and served three terms on the Parks Oversight Committee: Central Regional Volunteer Neighborhood Oversight Committee (RVNOC) for Prop K Funds.
Lopez graduated from Pomona College and is the Healthcare Director of nonprofit AltaMed, the largest independent Federally Qualified Community Health Center in the U.S.
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