An advisory commission charged with studying boundary changes for San Mateo County's five supervisorial districts voted Thursday to send two proposed maps to the Board of Supervisors.
The two maps were selected from among approximately 30 maps considered by the 2021 Supervisorial District Lines Advisory Commission.
The Board of Supervisors will meet on Tuesday, November 9, to review the commission's recommendations and consider additional public testimony and input.
The Board will also hold a public hearing on Tuesday, November 16, with more to follow as needed. The Board is required by law to adopt a final map by December 15, 2021.
Work to redraw supervisorial district boundaries takes place every 10 years, after the U.S. Census Bureau releases updated census information.
The Board of Supervisors, based on recommendations from local chapters of the League of Women Voters, appointed 15 volunteer commission members to participate in a months-long public process to gather public input.
So Thursday’s selection of two San Mateo draft maps to send to the Board of Supervisors came during the commission’s 10th meeting, with more than 200 comments submitted from the public — in person, online, through social media or by mail.
“What we’ve witnessed here in San Mateo County is the antidote to the idea that people aren’t interested in participating in local affairs,” said Commission Chairman Jim Lawrence of Foster City. “Quite the opposite. We’ve seen tremendous participation in this fundamental part of democracy.”
While all five districts must have substantially balanced populations, key requirements under state and federal law also include compliance with federal and state equal voting rights; drawing districts that are, to the extent possible, geographically contiguous; and keeping communities of interest intact as much as possible.
Also, keep cities intact, and have easily identifiable boundaries – major roads, railways, streets, rivers, mountains – as much as possible.
According to the 2020 census, each district should have around 153,083 people.
Draft maps for consideration
Following a five-hour public hearing, the advisory commission voted to send two draft maps to the Board of Supervisors for consideration.
The first is Unity Map, presented by a coalition led by Thrive, an alliance of local nonprofit agencies; while the second, called Commissioner Espinoza's MapThe meeting was presented by Advisory Commissioner Rudy Espinoza of Redwood City.
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