*UPDATE as of 11/19 the County has released its final draft map (linked HERE), the County site states that final decisions were based off of BOS revisions and public input. You can find a link to the article announcing this news HERE. This is what the site says about what happens in the final stage:
"The map is still in draft form, as Sacramento County’s Geographic Information System (GIS) team will be responsible for proofing the district lines submitted by the Board and comparing it to the district lines, Census blocks and legal boundary descriptions for all jurisdictions in Sacramento County, including cities. This is to ensure all areas of the County are assigned to a Supervisorial district and the proposed revisions follow existing district exterior boundaries."
The Board of Supervisors will adopt the final map at its Dec. 7 Board meeting at 2 p.m. We will keep you posted if there are any other calls to action.
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If you need a refresher on the redistricting process before we dive into content from the Sac BOS redistricting meeting on November 16th, please consult the image below! (Image pulled from the County's site)
Thanks to some awesome community organizers in Sac County many folx made public comment to voice their thoughts on what the final map should look like.
The focus of their demands were to keep communities together, including by keeping Elk Grove, Florin, Vineyard, and South Sacramento together to the best extent possible as shown in Maps 101, 102, or 103.
*Written from the perspective of a commenter living in Elk Grove, Florin, Vineyard, South Sacramento, or the South County (Galt, Wilton, the Delta)
Elk Grove is geographically adjacent to Florin, Vineyard, and South Sacramento. We shop and buy groceries in similar commercial centers, travel on the same roads, take the same public transit routes, our kids go to the same schools, and we enjoy similar regional amenities. We have more in common with each other than we do with more distant communities in other parts of the county.
The Asian American-Pacific Islander community’s request to be kept together in the south county should be respected. Keeping AAPI communities together would ensure that they have a united voice in advocating for their needs, receiving important services and investments, and electing candidates of their choice. This is especially important given the prevalence of anti-Asian hate over the past year, which underscores the importance of empowering the AAPI community in public policy.
The county’s own mapping tool shows that the highest concentrations of AAPI voters and persons who speak Asian languages at home are found in South Sacramento, Florin, Vineyard, and west Elk Grove.
When AAPI voters have elected candidates in this area, they’ve often elected candidates from their community - such as Darren Suen, Stephanie Nguyen, Bobbie Singh-Allen, Sean Yang, Mai Vang, Harold Fong. Splitting up the AAPI community would dilute its power to continue to elect candidates of their choice.
These areas share common education resources. They’re all in the Elk Grove Unified School District, which means that our kids go to the same schools, play together on the same teams, and use the same parks and recreation facilities. These areas are also served by Cosumnes River College in South Sacramento, which has a satellite center in Elk Grove and serves as southernmost RT light rail station that serves all of these south county communities.
Vineyard has much in common with neighboring eastern Elk Grove because they are both historically rural communities. Homes in Vineyard and Rural Sheldon are on big lots that preserve that rural character.
We want to spotlight one comment from particular - it comes from Cha Vang:
*For those who aren't familiar with Cha Vang, she is the Deputy Director of AAPIs (Asian American & Pacific Islander) For Civic Empowerment - Education Fund
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