As the California Redistricting Commission prepares to release their first draft of the latest district lines for state senate seats, the Examiner is wringing their hands over what could become of our two San Francisco Senators. As you know, Leland Yee currently holds court over the western half of the city while Mark Leno claims the eastern portion along with parts of San Mateo, Marin and Sonoma counties. If the Redistricting Comission follows through on their proposal to consolidate San Francisco's two districts, we stand to lose a lot of sway in the state government. Or, to put it in terms of metropolitan rivalries: LA could have a dozen senators to San Francisco's single senate seat.
One spokesman for Leland Yee called that potential situation "disproportionate to what the realities of this state are." (The realities of this state are that no one should give Los Angeles that much say in anything. Unfortunately, that's not really how districting by population works.) Making things worse is the possibility that Leno could be sitting on the bench for two year, leaving his half of the city without representation in the Senate from 2012 to 2014, depending on whether the commission randomly (more or less) assigns the new San Francisco district an odd or even number.
If you're already confused, you may wish to avoid thinking about what could happen if Yee wins the Mayor's office this year. (Hint: Leno would have to run for Yee's Senate seat in a special election and would then have to run again in another special election to carry him through 2014.)
For what's it's worth: the Redistricting Commission makes some attempts to clearly explain how average joes like you can participate in the process. Whether that actually makes any difference remains to be seen. The commissions first draft of new district maps is scheduled to be released on Friday.
