Los Angeles Times: Why redistricting is such a hot topic in the leaked L.A. City Council audio

Unlike state lawmakers and Los Angeles County supervisors, members of the L.A. City Council have the power to draw the lines for the districts they represent. It’s a power to decide not just which voters they will represent, but also which businesses, institutions, parks and other public assets.

Now, the political careers of former Council President Nury Martinez and council members Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo are in jeopardy because a leaked recording revealed a racist and mean-spirited discussion they’d held on how to wield that power. But the recording also shed light on a little-known aspect of redistricting: asset gerrymandering, or manipulating district maps so that a significant business or public facilities are placed into a particular council district.

How does the process work, and why do members tussle over “assets” in addition to voters?…

The main reason behind the fight over assets, said Jonathan Mehta Stein of California Common Cause, is the political benefits they can bring to a council member. “It all goes back to campaign fundraising and building power,” said Stein, who is the group’s executive director.

Those benefits are twofold, Stein said. First, having a business or commercial hub in your district puts you in contact with business owners who want to curry favor with you, which translates into campaign donations. And second, having a significant asset such as a major event space or a high-profile business gives you opportunities to hobnob with VIPs and powerful state figures.

What the call revealed was council members “trying to build the political power of one racial or ethnic group at the expense of another,” Stein said. “But their own interest in the future of their political careers was also at play amid all the racism. … When they’re trying to secure economic assets in their districts or their friends’ districts, they are trying to secure a glide path to more power, more influence and higher office for themselves and their friends.” …

Stein, of Common Cause, said the independent-commission model has been proved to work by the state, the county and the city of Long Beach. If the council does not propose a ballot measure to make the change, he said, “we will begin organizing with our allies to put independent restricting on the ballot in 2024.”

He wasn’t sold on Feuer’s idea to adopt a temporary map next year, though. “On the one hand, it’s good to recognize that these districts are corrupted and to use an independent process to redraw them,” Stein said. “But at the same time, you have to be conscious that mobilizing the community [to draw new district lines] takes months of education and engagement by advocates and local organizations. And it’s really hard to muster the time, capacity and energy to do it over and over and over. We just want to be thoughtful about how we approach next steps.”