A local resident in District 3 said, “As a lifelong resident of Bakersfield I have yet to feel my community has been adequately represented by a supervisor. I would like to see the new boundaries respect the continuity of well established and distinct community.”
An online submission was read Monday night as the Kern County Board of Supervisors looks to seek public input before redrawing district lines later this year.
Elizabeth Stitt with Redistricting Partners,“I can not tell you what your community is like and that’s why its so important for people to come out and give their testimony so the board has as much information to go on.”
The County of Kern will continue to host a series of outreach meetings before finalizing plans by December, so that board members can prioritize these needs when redrawing lines.
And while they are looking to keep communities of interests together, where like-minded people would benefit by redistricting. This cannot include reasons surrounding political affiliations.
And each district has to have about the same population.
Stitt said, “So we have historical communities tourism areas, rural and agriculture, media markets. Basically if you can make the argument that your area is a community of interest, then it probably is.”
And for interested community members who want to be part of this process.. Residents can go online to https://districtr.org/california and draw out a map reflecting your community of interest.
For a list of future meetings and times click the link below:
