Merced districts committee down to three maps

The committee tasked with recommending new district maps for Merced’s local elections is set to have what could be its final meeting on Tuesday, when members expect to pick two maps to recommend to the City Council.

The Independent Districting Advisory Committee still has decisions to make before it picks the final two, but the original 17 maps have been pared down to three.

Weighing which maps give the best and most balanced representation is the difficult task at hand, said See Lee, a member of the committee.

“Would an economic driver in each of these districts make a difference?” she asked. “Or, is it best to really just look at neighborhoods of interest?”

The three maps follow the requirements set in the agreement between the city and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit that got the districts ball rolling last year.

So the maps balance the north and south ends of town relatively equally by population. But, the committee is mulling whether to give each district its own economic driver to try to give each district equal political clout.

That is a tough task to carry out, committee members said, when development continues on the north end of town, but is harder to come by in the south.

The southern part of town does have some economic drivers – the downtown district towards the center; the Merced Municipal Airport and industry to the west; and the recently announced plans for Gateway Merced near Campus Parkway to the east.

But, in all three maps, Merced College, Mercy Medical Center Merced and, eventually, UC Merced fall into one district. UC Merced is not in the city limits, but could be in the same district as those other drivers in the future if the proposed maps are any measure.

The maps also have other strengths and weaknesses. One of the maps uses streets and natural borders, like creeks, to break up the districts. How the newly drawn elementary school districts break up the city should also be a consideration, committee members said.

Miguel Lopez, the committee’s chairman, said though the committee’s meetings are winding down, resident input should not. Merced’s residents can contribute at the committee’s meeting and as the City Council weighs the options in the near future.

“Even at this point of the process, we’re still trying to get public input,” he said.

The committee looks to pick two maps during its next meeting. But, members said, there is a potential to schedule one more meeting if necessary.

The next meeting, which could be the committee’s last, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the chambers of of City Hall, 678 W. 18th St.

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Merced districts committee down to three maps."