Planning group announces stance on redistricting

A Dec. 1 special meeting of the Fallbrook Community Planning Group directed planning group chair Eleen Delaney to compose letters to the state redistricting commission and the county redistricting commission.

An 11-0 vote directed Delaney to write a letter in support of a proposed State Assembly map which unites Fallbrook with other communities along the Interstate 15 corridor. Anna Strahan had another meeting and was unable to participate in the 10-0 vote recommending Map 13A for the Board of Supervisors redistricting and voicing concerns about Map 14.

Various maps have been eliminated from consideration and the two maps under consideration were Map 13A and Map 14.

Map 13A would have unincorporated communities in all five districts. Camp Pendleton, DeLuz, Fallbrook, Rainbow, Bonsall, Hidden Meadows, Pala, Valley Center, Pauma Valley, and Palomar Mountain would be in the Fifth District with Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido.

Map 14 places Camp Pendleton, DeLuz, Fallbrook, Rainbow, Bonsall, Hidden Meadows, Pala, Valley Center, Pauma Valley, Palomar Mountain, San Pasqual, Ramona, Julian, Santa Ysabel, Warner Springs, Ranchita, Borrego Springs, Lakeside, Crest, Dehesa, Alpine, Descanso, Pine Valley, Guatay, and Mount Laguna in the Second District along with Poway and the Del Cerro, San Carlos, Tierrasanta, Clairemont Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, and Rancho Penasquitos areas of San Diego. Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, and Escondido would be in the Fifth District.

The following is the letter to the redistricting commission from the Fallbrook Community Planning Group:

Commissioners of the San Diego County Independent Redistricting Commission,

Thank you for your service to the community and county.

The Fallbrook Community Planning Group is an elected body that represents approximately 50,000 Fallbrook area residents to the County of San Diego.

This evening, the Fallbrook Planning Group members met in a special session to send an updated letter to the Commission following our previous letter supporting IRC Draft Map 11.

After a unanimous vote, the Fallbrook Planning Group now supports the updated 13A variations and makes the following statements:

● The Map 13A variations protect the BIPOC/Latinx communities of interest by uniting Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista, Escondido, the unincorporated communities of Fallbrook, Valley Center, Rainbow, Bonsall, and the tribal lands.

● The Map 13A variations respect Fallbrook’s geographical community of interest by including it with the 76 and 78 corridors.

● North County communities, including Fallbrook, have cooperative agreements with public safety organizations including law enforcement and fire, a college district, and multiple health districts.

● Map 14 and its variations violate Fallbrook’s 48% Latinx protected class population by diluting its voice and separating it from the rest of its BIPOC community of interest that includes Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista, and Escondido.

Therefore, the Fallbrook Planning Group in representing the 50,000 Fallbrook area residents, reaffirms support for the 13A variations and recommends a 13A map move forward as the Commission’s final choice.

Respectfully yours,

Fallbrook Community Planning Group

Eileen Delaney, Chair; Jeniene Domercq, Victoria Stover, Roy Moosa, First Vice Chair; Stephani Baxter, Lee De Meo, Kim Murphy, Second Vice Chair; Steve Brown, Jacqueline Kaiser, Ross L. Pike, Secretary Mark Mervich, Michele McCaffery, Tom Harrington, Jim Loge, Anna Strahan