The County of Marin is on its way to initiating the redistricting process. At its May 15 meeting staff provides an initial overview of what to expect in the coming months.
The County's demographer estimates the 2020 census will show population changes within supervisors’ districts requiring adjustments to district maps. There is an expected under population in District 4 and slight overpopulation in Districts 2, 3, and 5.
The mandatory criteria for District composition beyond balanced population are ranked as follows in order of priority:
Contiguity
Unifying Neighborhoods and communities of interest
Unifying cities and Census Demographic Profiles
Easily identifiable & understandable boundaries
Compactness
Item 2. Communities of Interest are populations that share common social or economic interests that should be included in a single district for purposes of effective and fair representation.
The high emphasis on Communities of Interest calls for a robust outreach program inviting public participation to identify communities.
A ten person Ad Hoc Working Group is being formed. Members are being drawn from the Marin Election Advisory Committee and the Community Development Block Grant Priority Setting Committee.
The Working Group besides serving as a community champion to raise awareness of the County's redistricting initiative will provide feedback to the County's outreach efforts.
The Working Group membership and redistricting website are expected to be available soon.
More about local redistricting can be found under Redistricting-2021 at marinlwv.org.