Northeast L.A. Political Lines Officially Re-Drawn

The California Citizens Redistricting Committee approved a final set of maps that totally redraw California electoral boundaries on Monday. See where Echo Park falls in the maps on the right.

The vote caps off a process that began in 2008 when voters approved the new redistricting commission to replace the old process of the state Legislature handling the redistricting process that is done every 10 years.

The final draft maps were and their final approval was essentially a foregone conclusion. The commission's spokesman Rob Wilcox told Patch after the release after the final draft maps that no further revisions would be made at Monday's meeting.

The maps will be used for the 2012 election assuming that they survive any potential challenges - California state GOP officials have already released a statement saying they may challenge the plan with a ballot referendum and other legal challenges are possible

What Does Redistricting Mean for Echo Park?

Echo Park will remain unified under one Assembly district and one State Senate district. However, Echo Park will fall into two different Congressional districts.

Taking into account state and federal laws that require legislators to live within the districts they represent, the redrawn lines will mean a shake up in Northeast L.A.'s political scene. The following is a look at who is no longer eligible to represent their current districts, and who will be eligible to run for reelection in 2012.

Xavier Becerra (D-CA) 31st U.S. Congressional District

Status: Eligible

Becerra said the following in a statement released following the announcement of the final district boundaries in July:

"For the past 18 years it has been my great privilege to speak as a progressive voice in Congress for the hardworking families who live in the central and eastern portions of the city of Los Angeles.  The newly approved 34th Congressional District keeps intact a majority of these communities that I serve today and includes several communities I represented during my first decade in Congress. I feel deeply connected to the diverse and engaged communities in the part of Los Angeles that I call home, and I intend to ask them for another term as their elected representative and chief advocate in Washington, D.C."

Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada-Flintridge) 44th California Assembly District

Status: Not Eligible

Portantino, a resident of La Cañada-Flintridge, will not be eligible to run for reelection in the assembly district that represents Highland Park and Mount Washington as well as Eagle Rock. However, Portantino has already announced his intentions to run for United States Congress in 2012.

Gil Cedillo (D-Los Angeles) 45th California Assembly District

Status: Termed Out

Though Cedillo is a resident of Lincoln Heights and would be eligible to run for reelection in the newly defined assembly district that comprises much of Northeast Los Angeles, his term limit expires in 2012.

Carol Liu (D-La Cañada-Flintridge) 21st California State Senate District

Status: Not Eligible

Carol Liu, who resides in La-Cañada Flintridge, is now no longer able to represent the sliver of Northeast Los Angeles that was previously included in her district. Representatives from Liu's officer told Patch they were not able to comment on the redistricting issue during business hours, as it was a "political matter." 

Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) 22nd California State Senate District

Status: Eligible

De León lives in Mount Washington and would be eligible to continue representing Highland Park and Mount Washington. He would also take on the neighborhood of Eagle Rock if elected in 2012.

De León's district director, Steve Veres, said the following about the proposed district lines in July:

"We would continue to represent a good 60 to 70 percent of the neighborhoods we have represented in the past, such as Mount Washington and parts of Highland Park. Areas that are split in half, either because they're divided by Figueroa [Street] or by the border of Los Angeles would all be in one district. What would be new to the district would be places like Los Feliz, Koreatown and unincorporated East Los Angeles. It's an interesting mix—there's only a handful of areas we haven't worked in before and Eagle Rock is going to be one of those, but we're familiar with it because of our work in Highland Park."