Citizens Redistricting Commission Will Release Official Draft Maps On June 10, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Media Contact:
June 9, 2011
Kathay Feng (310) 880-6668
Citizens Redistricting Commission Will Release
Official Draft Maps on June 10, 2011
Public Participation Unprecedented
Los Angeles – The Citizens Redistricting Commission has had an unprecedented number of public input hearings – 21 to date. Over 1,355 speakers have given testimony and thousands of others submitted written comments.
“It has been exciting to watch community leaders, working moms, environmentalists, and farmers come to testify about their communities,” stated Kathay Feng, Executive Director of California Common Cause. “Not only has the Citizens Commission maintained an impressive schedule of community hearings, each commissioner has shown attentiveness and respect for members of the public who have come to testify. For the many Californians who have sacrificed time and expense to actively participate in the process and provide the Commission with their views, knowing that someone is really listening means a lot.”
While the Citizens Redistricting Commission got off to a rocky start as it had to create all processes from scratch, they and staff have worked to make the entire process open and transparent. Video of all meetings can be watched live online, www.wedrawthelines.com. Tweeting and parallel website resources at www.redistrictingCA.org help to capture the testimony and additional data.
The maps of districts expected to be released on June 10 are drafts. Starting June 16th, the Citizens Commission will travel around the state to receive feedback on these draft maps (hearing details can be found at www.wedrawthelines.com). The hearing dates include:
June 16: Culver City
June 17: Whittier
June 18: Fullerton
June 19: San Bernardino
June 20: San Diego
June 22: Oxnard
June 23: Fresno
June 24: Stockton
June 25: San Jose
June 27: San Francisco
June 28, 29, 30: Sacramento
Individuals can also email comments to: votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov.
California Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1970 as a vehicle for citizens to make their voices heard in the political process and to hold their elected leaders accountable to the public interest.