The last redistricting effort by the City of San Diego arguably disenfranchised the Asian Pacific Islander American community, by bisecting the congruent, and predominantly Asian communities of Mira Mesa and Rancho Penasquitos. The map above is a GIS map of 2000 Census d…ata, showing where the API community is concentrated, with the two neighborhoods outlined together in bright blue. A broad coalition of Asian community leaders proposed uniting these neighborhoods under one City Council District to the Redistricting Commission, but their efforts were senselessly rejected.
This mishap is chronicled in the San Diego Union-Tribune’s archives, which can be found in this article and this article.
Since 2001, Mira Mesa and Rancho Penasquitos have grown in not only population size, but also diversity. Ditto for the North University City community surrounding UCSD, and Carmel Valley, both communities with significant API populations. SANDAG’s population estimates show that a new Council District would likely come anyway from the northern, I-15 neighborhoods, which have ballooned in size, and have pushed Council Districts 1 & 5 to become the largest among all eight Districts. But it’s not clear that the fortunes of the Asian & Pacific Islander community will be any different next year, which is why API leaders are now preparing to have their voices heard loud and clear at City Hall. A background of what’s at stake was featured in a story by 10 News last week.
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