BOUNDARIES OF LB COUNCIL DISTRICTS GOING BACK TO REDRAWING BOARD
By LBReport.com
A year away from elections in the Long Beach City Council’s four even-numbered districts, the process of redrawing—or “redistricting”—the boundaries of all nine council districts is about to begin. Redistricting occurs every 10 years to equalize populations among council districts based on data from the most-recent census—in this case, the 2010 census.
The district-line-drawing decision is made by a council majority and in the past has been politically contentious among some council districts. That’s because precisely where council district lines grow or shrink—and where the new council district lines will be drawn—will decide which council members represent which neighborhoods (which can affect election outcomes).
On May 5, Long Beach’s non-elected Planning Commission is scheduled to review population data for each council district, after which the council will consider data and decide whether to redistrict.
