Calif. redistricting could alter urban politics

Today, non-whites are the majority in 10 cities in Orange County, California. A decade ago only one city had a majority of non-whites.

From Candy Crowley
CNN Washington Bureau

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Long before the U.S. Census Bureau added it all up, the streets here told the story.

The signs were all there.

Here in California's 51st state district, Democratic Assemblyman Jerome Horton, who is African-American, is representing an increasing number of Latinos.

"I've had more of the say, 'Jerome, you need to learn to speak Spanish, you know so you can understand what I'm saying, what I'm feeling or what my issues are, because I want you to understand what I'm feeling,'" Horton recounts.

VIDEO CNN's Candy Crowley talks with leaders in the minority communities about the balance of political power in California Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   GRAPHIC While more Latinos move into the heartland, nearly a third of those who live in the U.S. live in California   MESSAGE BOARD The state of race relations

Just east of Los Angeles International Airport, the 51st is a microcosm of California's famed diversity, boasting large numbers of Asians, Pacific islanders, African-Americans and whites.

But like California itself, Horton's district has seen explosive growth in its Latino population, which is now bigger than the African-American community.

The Latino population is young and not yet politically engaged. Latinos were only 20 percent of the electorate when Horton was elected last year. Still, every once in a while he wonders whether the changing mix will eventually cost him his job.

"Latino candidates have come and said basically, 'I am a Latino candidate and I understand better than the African-American candidate, and that's why you should vote for me,'" Horton says. "And there's a significant number of Latinos that will follow that, that will vote for that.

"And, as the Latino population begins to grow, to explode more in terms of power, not in terms of population, we will have more and more of that," he said.

Some 20 miles northeast of Horton's turf, Hilda Solis is heading a workshop to help undocumented residents legalize their INS status.

A first-term U.S. congresswoman, Solis, a Democrat, is one of six Latinos in California's 52-seat delegation to the House of Representatives.

"I think the maturation of our community, the way we have come about in terms of historically not having representation.... Sure, it means a lot to have Latino representation," she says.

Solis and Horton are faces of a political dynamic playing out in a once-every-10-years political exercise known as redistricting.

Assemblyman Horton and Congresswoman Solis face redistricting in a state that no longer has a majority of any group.

Block by block, the boundaries that have charted the nation's political destiny during the previous decade are being redrawn.

Using new census figures and other information, Amadis Velez works for one of many groups putting together a redistricting proposal to press upon the state legislature.

"In the last 10 years, over 50 percent of the growth in California was attributable to growth in the Latino population," said Velez, a redistricting coordinator for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund. "We think, therefore, that growth should be reflected in greater political power."

But there are limitless ways to redraw political boundaries.

"As summer moves on and people entrench themselves into maps more and more, we will speak louder," Velez said. "If we have to, to make sure a fair plan is drawn, the one that the legislature adopts truly represents the community."

And generally, if someone gains power, someone else loses it.

"The fear that exists is that, well, are they going to take over the community?" Horton asks. "Are they going to take over the school district? Are we going to be excluded as a result of this process from economic power?"

Please, said one Latino when told of this story. This is not one of those black-versus-brown things, is it? Because that is a myth.

And, setting aside the expected free-for-all over redistricting, perhaps that is so.

"I think as long as they know the needs of the people, then I think it doesn't matter if he is black, Latino or white," said one Hispanic woman of their local representative. "If he's treating everybody the same, I think it doesn't matter."

"I would just like to have the best person for the job," said an African-American man. "I don't care who he or she is."

Indeed, the assemblyman from the 51st state district and the congresswoman from the 31st Congressional District talk mostly about coalescing and commonality.

"We both struggle," Solis says. "We both want to see better civil rights and protections for our children. We want to see that there are opportunities to grow in the public and private sectors, in jobs and opportunities, so I think our struggles are the same."

"Food, jobs, education, kids, family, you know, if the Latino candidate is providing that, God bless 'em," Horton says. "If the African-American candidate provides that, God bless 'em."

In fact, some in the minority community believe the suggestion that minority groups will fight among themselves is promoted by the existing power structure as a way to counter a collection of minorities looking for ways to form a majority.

Census finds more Latinos in the heartland
April 11, 2001
Culture, new wealth luring Indians to reservations
April 10, 2001
Census finds few wealthy Latinos
April 10, 2001
Census: Non-Hispanic whites now a minority in California
March 30, 2001
Census notes shifting U.S. populations
March 16, 2001
Rising minorities find political clout elusive
March 30, 2001
Census notes shifting U.S. populations
March 16, 2001
Census Bureau: U.S. poverty rate lowest in 20 years
September 26, 2000
Census figures show dramatic growth in Asian, Hispanic populations
August 30, 2000

U.S. Census Bureau
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