Page One

Editor:  

I would like to address the suspicious and tremendously political process that is going on in regards to the redistricting plans for Berkeley, and further highlight the need for a student member on the city council. 

Over the past few months, a battle has been going on between Progressives, Moderates, and Berkeley students.  

Plans have been approved, rejected and repealed — in a manner that typifies politicking as opposed to good governance that we have come to expect out of the Berkeley government. 

It is imperative that the city council approves a city-redistricting plan that not only represents accurate demographic data but that produces a district that gives the 30,000 UC Berkeley student residents a legitimate chance to have one of their own on the city council. 

While the original ASUC plan of a District 7 student population (ages 18-24) of 71%, may have seemed a bit much to some, it nevertheless stood no chance because of an antiquated city charter law that essentially promotes the status quo by requiring that the lines remain in tact as much as possible. This is a tremendously limiting barrier for the city as it prohibits Berkeley from adapting to the natural demographic changes that occur during the ten years between censuses. Berkeley needs to be organized in a way befitting of its actual make-up.  

The Associated Students of the University of California (the student government at Cal) has a plan that does this. By forming districts based on actual numbers, District 7 will have a student population of 60%. In addition, previous plans proposed drastically undercounted by the 1000’s many of the student residential halls populations. And in response to this, certain council plans called for merely spreading the undercount evenly across districts as opposed to including every citizen in Berkeley. This method is completely unacceptable.  

In addition, it appears as if the Progressive Party is set upon moving some students out of District 7 and into District 8 so that they might have a chance to defeat District 8 representative Polly Armstrong (a moderate). This gerrymandering is not only an abuse of power, but also futile as District 8 will remain predominantly moderate in any redistricting plan.  

The importance of redistricting is unquestionable. It extends back to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and if done properly, can provide a way for underrepresented minority groups to gain political power and leverage. The Berkeley City Council needs to remember this. Having a student-majority district is a natural and needed reality in a city where they represent almost 1/3 of the 96,000 residents. I hope we all remember this in the upcoming meetings regarding this issue, starting with the public debate this Tuesday, February 19th. Redistricting is needed in Berkeley. But it is needed in a way that reflects the demographic structure of the city and not the political wishes of those who vote on it.