Orange County Supervisors Vote to Split Fountain Valley into 2 Districts

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a redistricting plan Tuesday that went against a proposal by a redistricting committee.

Among the ways the plan proposed put forward by Board Chairman Bill Campbell and passed by a 4-1 vote differs from the committee's plan is that it moves a portion of Fountain Valley north of Warner Avenue from the Second District to the First District.

That move is seen as a benefit for First District Supervisor Janet Nguyen because the area of Fountain Valley going to her district is heavily Vietnamese. Nguyen—who helped create the successful plan that dictates next year's voting districts—will face re-election in 2012.

Second District Supervisor John Moorlach was the only board member to vote against the plan. Other aspects of the approved plan that runs counter to the committee's recommendations are moving Brea to the Fourth District from the Third District and moving a part of Buena Park's west side to the Second District from the Fourth District.

The move that promises to draw the most criticism is the one giving Nguyen's district part of Fountain Valley. That proposal has been a subject of debate for Latino political advocates who say their numbers have grown faster than any ethnicity and they deserve a district where a Latino has the best chance to win. Making the First District more Asian works against that goal. However, it is a boon to activists of Asian descent, who have held concerns about a district that would make it difficult for an Asian, such as Nguyen, to win.

Art Montez and Zeke Hernandez of the Santa Ana chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens pushed for a map that put more of Stanton into the First District and were against putting Fountain Valley there because they believe it "waters down'' Latino representation in the district.

After hearing from many Asian and Latino leaders, the board directed the redistricting committee to reconvene, but ended up not following its recommended borders.

In redistricting, county officials must consider a number of factors, including federal laws regarding voting rights. When drawing a district for a minority group, officials must make sure the population is big enough, that the minority district is politically similar and that ethnic majority in the district votes as a bloc to defeat minority candidates. It is difficult to draw up maps in Orange County favoring Asian candidates, because voters of Vietnamese descent are not necessarily politically aligned with those of Cambodian descent.

Voters of Asian descent also are not as concentrated as Latinos in terms of population. Local activists in the League of United Latin American Citizens unsuccessfully proposed districts with Latino populations of more than 60 percent.

-- City News Service