Representatives of Rancho Penasquitos’ Asian-Pacific Islander community have put their dissatisfaction with last month’s San Diego City Council redistricting decisions into writing.<\/p>\n
In a letter to redistricting commissioners and San Diego County’s Asian & Pacific American Coalition last week, about a dozen residents of what used to be District 1 made a final appeal to city officials to avoid characterizations of their neighborhood based on race.<\/p>\n
The Asian & Pacific American Coalition, an Asian American advocacy group with chapters nationwide, applauded the city’s redistricting commission in late August for its decision to move Park Village, the northern part of Rancho Pe\u00f1asquitos, into the new council District 6 to create a district primarily populated by Asian-Americans. The district includes Mira Mesa, Miramar West, Kearny Mesa and Clairemont.<\/p>\n
The plans called for the rest of Rancho Pe\u00f1asquitos to join District 5, which includes Rancho Bernardo, Black Mountain Ranch, Torrey Highland, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Sabre Springs, Scripps Ranch and Rancho Encantada.<\/p>\n
The plan’s proponents, including the coalition, said the split would give San Diego’s Asian-American population a greater chance for representation at City Hall. Its critics, however, said the plan placed too much emphasis on residents’ ethnicity and not enough on their shared priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur common goals and interests are not specific to any ethnicity,\u201d said Bradlee Chang, who drafted the letter. \u201cBut they are specific to our neighborhoods. … We choose the common interests of our neighborhood and community before ethnicity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chang was one of hundreds of Rancho Pe\u00f1asquitos residents who spoke out against the change during the six months it took redistricting commissioners to develop and approve the new City Council district maps. Redistricting happens every 10 years to adjust voting boundaries to match new census figures.<\/p>\n
Asian & Pacific American Coalition representatives also spoke during the commission’s public hearings and presented arguments on behalf of the Asian-American community for the Rancho Pe\u00f1asquitos split. Chang said their testimonies misrepresented the desires of thousands of Rancho Penasquitos Asian Americans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAPAC continues to assert that we agree with their goals and philosophy,\u201d Chang and Nayak wrote in the letter. \u201cWe do not.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coalition representatives could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n
hailey.persinger@uniontrib.com; 619-293-2836; @haileyerin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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