Ventura County redistricting: Board favors two majority-Latino supervisorial districts

Editor's note: This story has been updated with links to the draft maps.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday supported having two Latino-majority supervisorial districts to comply with a federal voting rights law.

The aim is to prevent a minority group's votes for its candidates from becoming diluted, which would conflict with the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The landmark civil rights legislation prohibits drawing political boundaries in a way that diminishes the voting strength of members of racial or language minority groups. 

Federal law:Minority voting rights take precedence in Ventura County redistricting

Currently, only one of the county's five supervisorial districts has a Latino majority among voting-age residents: District 5 centered in Oxnard.

The board is looking at redrawing boundaries to have two "majority-minority" districts, one that would encompass the predominantly Latino communities of Santa Paula, Fillmore and Piru, and working-class neighborhoods in the Oxnard area. 

Latinos are the predominant minority group by far in Ventura County but only District 5 has a Latino supervisor, Carmen Ramirez. Just three Latinos have been elected to the board in its nearly 150-year history.

County Executive Officer Mike Powers made it clear in a letter to the board that the Voting Rights Act takes precedence over the public's preferences. And advocates made strong speeches before the board in support of the majority Latino districts in light of the 2020 census showing that Latinos make up 43% of the county's population.

"The burden is on the county to create two majority-minority districts to address the growth in the Latinx population," Barbara Macri-Ortiz, an Oxnard attorney, said Tuesday. "I am asking you to show leadership even when it affects your own district or your own position."

Tuesday marked the first time supervisors reviewed draft maps produced by Redistricting Partners, a Sacramento consultant. They reflected federal and state requirements and residents' preferences.

Supervisors voted to remove two proposed maps because they would not lead to a majority of voting-age Latinos in two districts. Supervisors Ramirez, Bob Huber, Linda Parks and Matt LaVere voted in favor. Supervisor Kelly Long voted no, saying she wanted to keep the maps under consideration to remain flexible.

The board directed the consultant to limit the splitting of cities among separate districts as much as possible and try to keep communities with joint interests in the same districts, such as teaming the Port of Hueneme with Naval Base Ventura County.

Supervisors said they wanted to continue consideration of two draft maps that would have majority Latino districts in both the Oxnard and Santa Paula-Fillmore areas.

They involve trade-offs to arrive at a large enough concentration of Latinos to create a majority. One would send Camarillo out of the district it now shares with the Santa Paula-Fillmore area, while the other would split Camarillo among three districts.

They're also considering maps drawn by residents and community groups. One called the "community map" is backed by 15 organizations, said Lucas Zucker, policy director of CAUSE, a regional social equity advocacy group that drafted the proposal.

Supervisors asked Redistricting Partners to return Nov. 9 with maps that have been refined based on reactions from the public and the board's directives. Other proposals from the public will also be considered, board members said.

The draft maps produced by the consultant can be viewed at https://www.ventura.org/redistricting/draft-maps/. Draft plans 1 and 2 are still under consideration, but draft plans 3 and 4 are not. Maps submitted by county residents and community groups  can be seen under the public gallery at https://districtr.org/tag/Ventura_County.

Kathleen Wilson covers the Ventura County government, including the county health system, politics and social services. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0271.