GTLNC President Andrew Westall to Lead L.A. City Council Redistricting Commission

Andrew Westall, president of the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council, was appointed as executive director of the Los Angeles City Council Redistricting Commission recently.

After a GTLNC meeting on Nov. 15, Westall acknowledged his recent appointment to Patch but stated he was unable to publicly comment. Westall was contacted via email and phone for further comments, but did not respond to questions as of this article’s publishing.

The commission, which is responsible for redrawing district lines in an effort to evenly represent the population among 15 council districts, voted for Westall as their top pick for the position during an Oct. 27 meeting, reported the L.A. Times.

Westall, who served as senior deputy to City Councilmember Herb Wesson, Jr. of District 10 before resigning the post after being named to the redistricting commission, was technical director of the commission during the 2002 redistricting process and was also involved in the Los Angeles Unified School District redistricting process. He has previously served as a consultant to former Assembly Speakers Bob Hertzberg and Fabian Nunez. Westall also has extensive experience in housing, transportation and environmental policy, as well as in demographics and urban planning, his LinkedIn profile shows.

Westall’s appointment drew concerns by some who believe his ties to Wesson could affect his ability to remain neutral in his position as director of the Redistricting Commission. In an editorial published Nov. 15, the Daily News wrote Councilmember Jan Perry was “frustrated by colleagues’ backroom deals on new district lines.” Among other issues the newspaper laid out included how the Valley districts would be redrawn, as well commission members “with worrisome connections to people whose electoral futures their map-drawing may influence.”

Perry had recently stepped down from her position as city council president pro tem, a move that had been expected so she could focus on her candidacy for mayor in 2013, according to the Daily News. However, Perry told the newspaper she decided to resign sooner than she had originally planned because she did not like “the direction we are going in with transactional politics.”  

Perry declined to give specific details or refer to individuals, but hinted at the fact that council maps were being planned outside of the public eye. She said she “felt we have drifted away from the kind of openness and frank discussion that has characterized this council,” she told the Daily News.