Under federal law, cities must redraw electoral districts after each federal census. The city’s districts must be redrawn by April 22, 2022. To help accomplish this, the city is conducting public hearings and workshops.
Encinitas activists were immediately struck by the lack of resident participation at the first public hearing.
“I think the public has lost faith in city government generally,” said activist Larry Gomorka, “and the fiasco of creating voting districts is an example of why. When the districts were first drawn, it was later revealed that then-Councilwoman Tasha Boerner Horvath had anonymously submitted the map the council adopted. Still later, it was revealed that the whole council had devised the map and had Tasha submit it.
“The map was designed to retain the five then-sitting council members — no one would be pushed out or have to compete with another member for reelection,” said Gomorka. “That’s why the districts are so oddly shaped. For example, to benefit Mark Muir, a weird appendage had to be added to Cardiff to include Muir’s residence in New Encinitas.
“Given these blatant districting manipulations,” said Gomorka, “and the many other damaging decisions by the City Council, who can blame residents for losing faith in city government? Residents’ interests are ignored. Residents can’t win. We are steamrollered by a council and a staff that don’t care about us. They’re all in it for themselves.
“Yet some of us are diehards,” said Gomorka. “We decided to fight fire with fire. We have devised a way to ensure that Cardiff in underrepresented. The mayor and another council member live in Cardiff. Cardiff got a quiet zone. Cardiff got the rail trail. Cardiff got the Chesterfield crossing improved. Cardiff has the Verdi crossing designed. Cardiff has its own library.
“Cardiff is favored,” said Gomorka. “The only way to stop the abuse is to shrink Cardiff’s electoral district. We’ll draw the district to exclude Blakespear or Lyndes. Better yet, we’ll exclude both.”
In the interest of balanced reporting, the views of city staffer Xavier Onassis are included.
“The redistricting process has unimpeachable integrity,” said Onassis. “We have engaged legal assistance from Nielsen Merksamer, Christopher Skinnell and demographers Douglas Johnson and Shannon Kelly from National Demographics Corporation to assist with the redistricting process. We assure the voting public that the process and result will conform to the state’s Fair Maps Act of 2020.”
