SPONSORED CONTENT FROM THE EAST AREA PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS
If an earthquake ruptured our neighborhood, ripping it apart down the middle of Colorado and Eagle Rock Boulevards, we would call it a disaster.
That is exactly what is happening now, in the process called redistricting. With no sirens but potentially severe damage, fault lines have emerged suddenly along two of our most familiar streets to fracture Eagle Rock into two Congressional districts.
A new map of districts in Congress released by the nonpartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission on December 15 would carve up our cohesive community for no coherent reason.
The map puts opposite sides of Eagle Rock and Colorado Boulevards—and the homes, businesses, restaurants, clinics, churches, public schools, post offices, and other government buildings that make these defining features of our unified neighborhood—in different districts.
Why does this matter?
Some local politicians answer their phones. Some don’t. That has an impact when a constituent calls about a missing Social Security check. Or a housing or health benefit for a veteran. Or an immigration case. Or a letter of recommendation for a federal application.
About 3/8 of Eagle Rock would remain in Northeast L.A., with a zigzag boundary that would divide residents down a series of streets. The other 5/8 would be attached to a district anchored by Glendale, separating residents north of Colorado Blvd. and west of Eagle Rock Blvd. and Ellenwood Drive from their neighbors to the southeast.
Whoever is behind the conniving to break up the neighborhood is undoing years of unified representation in Congress.
For decades, Rep. Xavier Becerra, now the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, represented a united Eagle Rock. For the past four years, that seat has been held by Rep. Jimmy Gomez.
As if to add insult to injury, the splitting up of the community and severing it from Northeast L.A. would occur on the brink of our 100th anniversary, in 1923, of being part of Northeast L.A. That is IF the new draft map survives.
Can the disaster be undone? YES, and your voice could make the difference. Time is of the essence.
The statewide Redistricting Commission, chaired by political science professor Sara Sadhwani, a resident of La Cañada Flintridge, is in the frantic closing phase of its mission. They need to hear from concerned residents fast, before they meet on Dec. 19 and finish work on Dec. 27.
What you can do to prevent redistricting disaster happening to Eagle Rock:
Speak Up! Please send your message to:
VotersFirstAct@crc.ca.gov
Sara.Sadhwani@crc.ca.gov
Include 2 other Commissioners as CC:
Derric.Taylor@crc.ca.gov
isra.ahmad@crc.ca.gov
Please share a copy with us at:
EAPD.LA@gmail.com
East Area Progressive Democrats (EAPD) is leading the effort to alert residents to this danger as a service to the community. This is NOT a partisan issue. We encourage ALL informed voices who want our community united and strong to be heard now while it matters.
Want to see for yourself? Here is the draft Congressional map where, if you check the box to show the Dec. 15 Congress lines on the map, you can see the cracking of Eagle Rock and its cutoff from the rest of Northeast L.A.:
https://www.wedrawthelinesca.org/map_viewer
The results of this redistricting will be with us for a decade. Please take 10 minutes now to prevent 10 years of division. Let’s Reunite Eagle Rock. Keep our community whole.
So we don’t need 2 rip up the strs. They r all ready ripped up. No new bus crap. The only metro wants this is bc they have 2 spend all their funds this yr so they can have more funds. What major moron thought up this split. Who does it benefit?
Keep Eagle Rock in Jimmy Gomez’s district. We are not Glendale.
The Redistricting Committee surely made a mistake on this map version of Eagle Rock as it makes no sense to divide our cohesive community this way. I don’t know anyone in the area who agrees with this.
I like Jimmy Gomez just fine, but would be equally happy to be in Adam Schiff’s district. This doesn’t seem as significant as dividing Eagle Rock between two city council districts, which could have happened but didn’t.
Whoever is behind the conniving to split the community of Eagle Rock in Northeast Los Angeles for his/her political gain should be eliminated from all political representation and beyond. This is political idiocy and conniving at its worst. The community has survived almost 90 years of cohesiveness and political gerrymandering -not to mention mental lapses in our representatives. Stop this madness! Stop the gerrymandering! Keep the community of Eagle Rock intact!
Kathleen Whitaker
A resident of Eagle Rock since 1960!!!