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Politics & Government

City Council Approves Redistricting Maps Despite Threat of Lawsuit

Council District 12 which includes Chatsworth, Northridge and Porter Ranch, remains essentially intact.

The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday approved a contentious redistricting plan for council district boundaries that drew promises of a lawsuit from opponents.

The new boundaries, which will remain in effect until after the 2020 census, were crafted over a period of about six months starting last fall by a 21-member commission appointed by elected city officials. The City Council made some changes to the plan, which were approved on a 13-2 vote.

Council District 12 which includes Chatsworth, Northridge and Porter Ranch, and is represented by Councilman Mitch Englander, remains . It loses territory in Encino and Lake Balboa, but .

Find out what's happening in Northridge-Chatsworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

However, the issue drew a display of hardball politics from City Council President Herb Wesson, who refused to allow about a dozen opponents of the plan to testify about their concerns, citing previous opportunities for the public to comment.

"Sometimes in life it's time to move on," Wesson said after the vote.

Find out what's happening in Northridge-Chatsworthwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The move prompted the opponents -- a coalition of pastors and bishops from South Los Angeles and members of Korean American groups -- to march to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office to lodge their complaints and urge him to veto the plan.

Blocking public testimony in opposition to the plan added "insult to injury," Bishop Juan Carlos Mendez said. "I feel like I'm living in the times of El Conquistador."

Villaraigosa intends to sign off on the new council district boundaries, a spokesman said.

Critics argue the new district boundaries create disproportionately poor districts in South Los Angeles.

A coalition of opposed the split of the Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council. The groups wanted the Koreatown neighborhood to be moved into a district with Thai Town and Historic Filipinotown. Instead, the neighborhood council was split, with the financial center moved into Wesson's district.

Korean American Coalition Executive Director Grace Yoo said two law firms -- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Bird, Marella, Boxer, Wolpert, Nessim, Drooks & Lincenberg -- agreed to take the case pro bono.

City Council members and Bernard Parks accused Wesson and other council colleagues of engaging in secret backroom deals to orchestrate the district boundaries to benefit themselves or members of their staffs who are running for City Council seats in March.

"This is council members selecting their voters as opposed to voters selecting their representatives," Parks said.

The homes of Councilmen Ed Reyes' Chief of Staff Jose Gardea and Jose Huizar's former Chief of Staff Ana Cubas were moved into districts where they intend to run for seats on the City Council, Parks said.

Parks also charged that a home purchased by Councilman Paul Krekorian outside of his current district was intentionally included in his new district boundaries.

Krekorian called Parks' accusation "categorically wrong and untrue.'' 

Cubas also called Parks' accusation nonsense.

"There is no truth to any lines being drawn to move me into the (9th) district, because I will be moving on July 1. So that's nonsense,'' Cubas said, adding that her campaign committee is registered with the Ethics Commission to an address in the 9th District that Parks might have confused for her home.

Candidates must live in the districts where they plan to run 30 days before filing a petition to run for office.

Parks and Perry are upset about losing valuable portions of their districts in the redistricting process. Perry lost a significant portion of downtown Los Angeles, which has seen a renaissance in recent years, to Council District 14. Parks lost the University of Southern California, which was moved into Perry's neighboring 9th District.

The two council members had previously vowed to sue to block the plan, but said Wednesday it would be inappropriate for sitting council members to sue the city.

Read more about City Council redistricting on Patch:

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