Editorial: Why L.A. needs independent redistricting experts: The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday will consider a package of citizen-driven redistricting proposals. The proposals have several layers: one that could dramatically reduce the number of political districts in the city, one that could create up to 10 new ones, another that could give most of the existing districts “majoritarian” powers, along with some powers specific to cities and counties. The citizen-driven proposals would all end up as a package approved by the City Council; they are unlikely to change the fact that the city has no independent redistricting experts.
A proposal from the city’s Fair Districts Coalition would end the city’s requirement of a supermajority to draw any new district lines. If that measure passes, it would make up for the city’s loss of one redistricting expert, as David Cohn from the Urban Institute has written a book, “The New Politics of Redistricting,” that would help citizens draw the city’s next redistricting.
Other proposals would reduce the number of districts, as in the Fair Districts Coalition’s proposal. The city would end its tradition of drawing its districts on a five-person quorum basis, and instead would rely on an 11-person majority.
The city would also create an “elector system” for its electoral districts. City Council members would draw the district boundaries for their district, and voters would have to elect a single person to be at-large representative on the Council. The person would then draw the districts for the rest of the city.
Councilman Paul Krekorian (D-North Hollywood) has been a key advocate for the citizen-led proposals. His ideas have been endorsed by the Fair Districts Coalition and the League of Women Voters. A few of them, like ending the city’s quorum requirement, have the support of the City Council Democrats. The citizen-driven proposals are unlikely to change the fact that the City Council has no independent redistricting experts.
The citizen-driven proposal, from the Fair Districts Coalition, would end the city’s requirement of a super
