Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting – July 6, 2011
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Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting – July 6, 2011
The Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee held its final meeting on July 6, 2011, at 6:07 p.m. in the Council Chambers of New City Hall, 915 I Street. The committee finalized its report to the City Council recommending four redistricting maps (A, B, C, D) after months of analysis and public input. The meeting lasted approximately 78 minutes, adjourning at 7:25 p.m.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of June 27, 2011 Committee Minutes – Approved unanimously by a voice vote.
- Weekly Report Out of Redistricting Activities – Received and filed. Staff noted media coverage and thanked the committee.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mike Barnbaum – Commented on district numbering, urging numerical order based on geography rather than colors. Noted confusion between two “River Oaks” neighborhoods and advised against splitting River Park and East Sacramento.
- Rosanna Herber (Chair, LGBT Redistricting Committee representing Sacramento LGBT Community Center, Stonewall Democratic Club, and Rainbow Chamber of Commerce) – Expressed support for the maps but requested corrections to the staff report: (1) replace “extended LGBT” with “core LGBT” defined as central city (river to river, freeway to freeway) linked with Curtis Park, Land Park, or East Sacramento; (2) update the matrix and committee comments to reflect that three of the four maps meet the core LGBT objective. She emphasized that the extended LGBT area from Equality California data was only informational, not a community-of-interest request.
Discussion Items
- Review and Approval of the Committee’s Final Report to the City Council – Staff (Maria MacGunigal and Scot Mende) presented the four modified maps (A–D), their deviations (ranging from 4.74% to 8.22%), strengths, and weaknesses. Key issues debated:
- River Oaks Community Association (ROCA) request: Staff proposed moving 991 people from District 1 to District 4 to keep River Oaks intact, raising deviations in maps B, C, and D. Some members (e.g., Porter, Hansen) opposed changes at this late stage; others (e.g., Camp) favored noting the request without altering maps.
- River Park / East Sacramento split: On map B (originally Plan 24), staff inadvertently split the area. Members Pluckebaum and Shaw noted this was not the committee’s intent. Hansen explained the modification was necessary to keep deviation under 10% while meeting other goals.
- District numbering: Several members (Maviglio, Porter, Perry) raised inconsistencies in numbering across maps (some numbered left-to-right, others not). Debate over whether to remove numbers, standardize, or keep as submitted. The majority favored retaining original submitter numbers with a clear statement that the committee takes no position on numbering.
- LGBT community of interest: Members discussed staff’s proposed changes—adding “central city/LGBT core” to the community-of-interest map, updating matrix to mark “yes” for mostly intact core areas, and adjusting map comments. The motion’s maker (Camp) accepted these as friendly amendments.
- Other tweaks: Change “downtown” to “central city”; in map B trade-offs, correct references from District 6 to District 3; add a note in Chapter 1 that the committee takes no position on district numbers.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to approve staff recommendation with amendments – Moved by Camp, seconded by Bowler. Passed unanimously (14-0).
- Amendments incorporated:
- Various administrative and consistency changes throughout the report.
- On the matrix, change “mostly intact” entries to “yes” where applicable.
- Maintain district numbering as submitted by map creators, with a statement that the committee takes no position on the numbering.
- Add a comment to maps in Chapter 5 regarding River Oaks (ROCA concerns).
- Add a comment to Map B in Chapter 5 regarding the division of River Park / East Sacramento.
- Incorporate modifications in Chapters 4 and 5 regarding the LGBT community of interest (e.g., “core LGBT” designation, updated matrix, revised map comments).
- Next steps: Staff will finalize the report by July 7 for inclusion in the July 12 City Council agenda. Committee members were encouraged to attend the council meeting.
- Adjournment: 7:25 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Ladies and gentlemen, if we could come to order for the July 6th meeting of the redistricting committee. Okay, we'll call roll, Roman Porter. Bill Camp. Here. Cyril Shaw. Steve Hanson. Bill Motman's Bernard Bowler. Sandra Fry Lucas. Michelle Rubikova. Steve Maviglio. Miranda Perry. Bill Pluckabaum. Maya Wallace. Nadia Leo Currill. And our Chair Joe Cherry. I am here. With the exception of Lynn Hom, we have a full committee. And let me welcome back Professor Maviglio. Glad to see you here tonight. Hope you enjoyed whatever it is you were doing. And we're glad to have you back. We're glad to have you back. I feel like that kid that went to the first few classes of semester and then came back and got an A on the final next year work. So glad to be a good question. Well, as a professor yourself, I'm sure you understand how that works. Why don't we uh take care of item one? Item one is the approval of the June 27 committee minutes. Moved. It's been moved and seconded to approve the minutes of the June 27 meeting. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Any opposed, any abstentions, eyes have it. Okay, item two is the first staff presentation. It's the weekly report out of redistricting activities. Good evening, Scott. Maybe I won't be quite as fast as item one, but I'll make this brief. Firstly, media articles on redistricting. Last week in the Sacramento Press on the 28th, there was an article on the redistricting advisory committee. Chooses four maps and begins the district line modifications. And then in the Inside the City July magazine, it was redrafting the cityscape brief article. As you know, today is our last meeting of the redistricting committee, and for me, this is a very bittersweet moment. On behalf of all the staff, it has been a pleasure working with all of you. And let's see if we can build on our great relationship to get us through this last meeting. Thank you. Okay, we're moving on to item number three, the review and approval of the committee's final report to the City Council. Okay. Good evening, everybody. My name is Maria McGonagall, and this is uh my pleasure to be here tonight to present to you our uh final report to council that's going to go back to council next week on the 12th. And the report represents over two months of uh detailed study, analysis, and public input and debate on the process of redistricting here. So I'm gonna primarily focus on chapter five, which is the specific recommendations from the committee, but I'll give you a brief overview of the actual report that we're have drafted and um at the end ask for your adoption of um that report with some modifications.
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