The remaining six of 11 seats on the Santa Barbara County Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission have been filled, after conducting nine public meetings of the initial five commissioners.
The commission will now be tasked with establishing county supervisorial district boundaries for the upcoming decade after receiving the 2020 federal census data which will be released in late March or early April.
The six commissioners were chosen based on relevant experience, analytical skills, an ability to be partial and ensuring the commission reflects the county’s diversity, including racial, ethnic, geographic, age, gender and political party registration.
The final six commissioners selected by the initial five commissioners are: First District: Karen Twibell; Second District: Megan Turley; Third District: James Hudley; Fourth District: Lata Murti; Fifth District: Jannet Rios; and Member At Large: Benjamin Olmedo.
They all joined the five initial commissioners who were selected by random draw: First District: Laura Katz; Second District: William McClintock; Third District: Norman Bradley; Fourth District: Cary Gray; and Fifth District: Glenn Morris.
The commission will begin meeting in January 2021 to review, discuss and deliberate redistricting statutes, public outreach plans and mapping tools for constituents to use during a series of public meetings held in each district.
The public is encouraged to participate in the redistricting process that is expected to be completed by late summer or early fall 2021.
The commission selection process followed Measure G which was approved by voters in November 2018. After a two-month application period in summer of 2020, the County Elections Official established a pool of 45 candidates.
One commissioner from each of the five supervisorial districts was randomly drawn by the County District Attorney. Then the initial five commissioners selected the final six members, one from each supervisorial district and one at-large member to complete the commission.
Visit https://bit.ly/3k7oCnY and www.countyofsb.org/redistricting.sbc to sign up for updates and information about the redistricting process and future public meetings.
email: gmccormick@newspress.com
