New City Council Map Passes, Now Here Come the Lawsuits!

The City Council voted on its new district boundaries today and, by all accounts, it was not a pretty debate. Councilmembers Bernard Parks and Jan Perry, who have already threatened a lawsuit over the redistricting, were the only dissenting votes and Perry in particular had several harsh words for Council President Herb Wesson (she implied that he was retaliating because she didn't vote for him for president). One of Wesson's former deputies led the redistricting commission and it's widely believed (by LA political wonks, at least) that Wesson exerted quite a bit of influence on the process. Perry and Parks's districts were also some of the biggest losers in the redistricting. CD9 (Perry's district) lost pretty much all of Downtown, excepting South Park, which Perry argues will disempower the poorer CD9 areas in South LA. The majority of Downtown now moves into CD14 (Jose Huizar's district), which covers Boyle Heights and Northeast LA. CD8 (Parks's district) lost wealthy areas around Leimert Park (to CD10, Wesson's district).

A Council committee passed an amendment earlier today that kept Westchester consolidated in CD11 (Bill Rosendahl's district), reports the City Maven. The Council also passed amendments moving the Stonehurst neighborhood in Sun Valley from CD6 to CD7 and one splitting Campo de Cahuenga between CD2 and CD4.

Koreatown will remain split among districts (the neighborhood was hoping to be moved into CD13 with Thai Town and Historic Filipinotown, according to the LA Times).

The city lawyers will now draft an ordinance to implement the maps (with the latest amendments) and the City Council will take a final vote, probably in May. In the meantime, we can expect lawsuits not just from Parks and Perry, but probably also from Koreatown activists.
· Approval of new L.A. council districts brings threat of lawsuits [LAT]
· Jan Perry Apologies for Criticizing Redistricting Process, as New Maps Are Approved 13-2 [City Maven]
· The Final City Council District Map Recommendations and How They're Different From the Current Ones [Curbed LA]