New congressional district maps finalized this week spell big changes for San Mateo County representation, with the county — previously contained largely in a single district, now split into east and west halves.
California’s redistricting commission, a bipartisan body tasked with redrawing maps for state and federal legislators, voted to adopt the new configurations Monday, capping a tumultuous process marked by months of community input and compromise. The maps, which will be used to elect lawmakers for the next 10 years, are redrawn every decade coinciding with the release of census data to maintain roughly equal population sizes among districts as population densities shift.
This year the state lost a congressional district — leaving 52 in the new arrangement due the state’s population increase falling behind that of the nation. The Bay Area, however, will gain two seats, up to 12 from 10.
In San Mateo County, the eastern portion of the Peninsula will now be grouped in a congressional district from Daly City to Redwood City, including also East Palo Alto. A coastal district will stretch from Pacifica to Pescadero, inland to Palo Alto and Mountain View and down to Los Gatos and part of San Jose.
In the Assembly, the eastern portion of the Peninsula from South San Francisco to Redwood City and East Palo Alto will be contained in a single district. District 22 currently contains the same territory plus Pacifica down to Moss Beach but not East Palo Alto. A coastal district will cover the coast from Pacifica to Pescadero, plus inland cities including Palo Alto, Mountain View and Saratoga. The county’s Senate district remains largely unchanged.
While the county will be divided in Congress, a previous direction of the commission would have had much stranger implications for the coast, nearly lumping the western portion of the county including Pacifica and Half Moon Bay in a 200-mile-long district stretching down the coast to include San Luis Obispo.
The arrangement was put forward to appease San Jose constituents and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo who opposed the chosen alternative that splits San Jose between four districts. San Jose is currently represented within three districts, one of which contains the bulk of the city’s population.
But after some dubbed the span a “ribbon of shame” and alleged a congressional representative would be unable to adequately serve the different areas, the commission in a last-minute move opted to shorten the coastal district to stop at the southern San Mateo County line. To make up the population, however, the district reached inland, including a sliver of San Jose.
It’s unclear the exact implications the maps will have in the county’s congressional race. South San Francisco Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President David Canepa and Burlingame Councilmember Emily Beach are the frontrunners to replace Jackie Speier, who announced her retirement last month and represents District 14 which currently covers nearly the entire county. The new Bayside district will be 15.
The new coastal district will be 16, and encompass the majority of present-day District 18, represented by Anna Eshoo. Eshoo will seek reelection against Saratoga Councilmember Rishi Kumar, Palo Alto attorney Ajwang Rading, Palo Alto Councilmember Greg Tanaka and former Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki.
“It’s great that the coastside remains intact, and Half Moon Bay has certainly benefited from representation by Congresswoman Eshoo in the past,” said Half Moon Bay Mayor Deborah Ruddock. “Nevertheless, the numbers favor dominance by San Jose. This will no doubt deprioritize San Mateo Coastside interests and issues in the longer term.”
Ruddock said the city had opposed the arrangement to the redistricting commission.
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