Moorpark Among Cities Potentially Impacted by Redistricting

The redistricting draft plan released on Friday puts Moorpark in brand new territory, literally, and politicians are being rather quiet about it.

The California Citizens Redistricting Committee—created as a result of Prop 11 from the Nov. 2008 election—announced a draft plan for redrawing electoral boundaries in California for congressional and state districts. This is done every 10 years when the census comes out, but unlike previous years when the state legislature is in charge of redistricting, the 14-person committee (5 Democrats, 5 Republicans and 4 unaffiliated) will redraw the lines, per the ballot measure.

But what does that mean for Moorpark?

The city would be placed into a new congressional district that no longer encompasses most of Ventura County. Under the plan, Moorpark and Simi Valley would not be part of that East Ventura district. Rather, the two cities, currently represented by Elton Gallegly (R), would join the Antelope Valley-Santa Clarita district. This could potentially cause issue for Gallegly—most of his current district would become the new East Ventura district, but his hometown of Simi Valley would be in the district of a fellow Republican, Howard McKeon.

Gallegly was unavailable for comment.

The redistricting plan’s impact is not just felt at the national-level. The districts for the California State Senate and State Assembly could likewise be transformed.

For Moorpark, that looks like inclusion in a smaller Assembly district. The proposed 37th district would no longer include Ventura, Santa Paula, Fillmore or much of Thousand Oaks. It also would no longer include the Mount Pinos area out to the Palmdale/Lancaster area.

The changes to what is presently the 19^th district would be less dramatic. The region represented by Tony Strickland (R) would lose Thousand Oaks and much of the Santa Barbara area and gain the western-most section of the 17^th district in the Mount Pions area.

Strickland declined to comment, citing the fact that the maps are only drafts and therefore not final.

Sen. Fran Pavley (D), who represents the 23rd district, including parts of Ventura County, however, encouraged citizens with concerns about the proposed districts to voice their opinions before Aug. 15.

“Individual citizens and community groups should have a strong voice in how their communities are represented,” she said. “The Commission will be holding meetings up and down the state over the next two months and I urge everyone to submit written or verbal testimony to the Commissioners about the importance of keeping communities of interest intact.”