With election day just two weeks away, there are many measures and candidates to read up on. At TERA, we see two LA City Charter amendment measures (DD and LL) as particularly important for our city and are extending our endorsement here.
In the aftermath of scandals connected to LA’s 2021 redistricting process, two LA City Charter amendments propose to add independent redistricting commissions for Los Angeles City Council Districts (Measure DD) and LAUSD School Board Districts (Measure LL). These measures would make our local redistricting processes similar to existing state-level districts in California, which are already overseen by a politically independent redistricting commission.
TERA participated in the 2021 redistricting process, advocating to keep Eagle Rock whole and connected to Northeast LA communities that Eagle Rock has historically shared representation with. It was clear that the process was inherently politicized by the nature of redistricting commissioners being appointed by the elected offices. Measures DD and LL are an important step to restoring residents’ faith in the local redistricting process – and to making districts more equitable moving forward.
Independently appointed commissions would shield the redistricting process from political power grabs and require redistricting maps to meet specific standards of fairness in their inclusion of geographic communities within the same district. These districts would be created through an open community process, without the influence of local elected officials operating behind closed doors.
These two measures are the first much-needed step to bring equity to our local political representation. TERA strongly endorses Measures DD and LL, and encourages Eagle Rockers to vote YES on each measure.