Dramatic changes proposed for North Coast congressional districts

The California Citizens Redistricting Commission on Wednesday released revised maps that dramatically alter its plans for the two North Coast Congressional districts.

The maps differ significantly from those made public in early June - with changes that include adding part of San Francisco to a district that would run up through Marin and part of Sonoma County then move inland to encompass Napa and Lake counties.

That proposed district contains the homes of current members of Congress Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma, and Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.

Santa Rosa, which previously was envisioned as being on the westernmost edge of an inland district extending through Yuba County, now is placed on the easternmost edge of a coastal district running to the Oregon border.

"This is essentially a kaleidescope of options and we know when these changes will stop but we don't know where," said David Wasserman, House editor for the Washington-based Cook Political Report.

The final maps are due July 28.

Redistricting Commissioner Stan Forbes said much work remains to be done and that the latest draft maps were shaped by public comment about the first version.

"It's not a done deal by any means, but we want to look at options next week," said Forbes, a Yolo County farmer. "If we did that, does it work?'"

One criteria the redistricting commission must follow is that the new districts must have 702,905 residents, give or take one person. That means that Woolsey's 6th District, with about 640,000 residents, has to grow in size.

The redistricting commission was established by voters in a 2008 ballot measure in an attempt to insulate the process from political influence.

But politicians in line to run to replace Woolsey, who has said she would retire in 2012, said the new maps seem suspect.

"That one is hard to justify and begins to look politically inspired," state Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said of the district drawn to include part of San Francisco.

"It's the kind of district line that the old gerrymandering process used to produce," he said. "It doesn't follow any objective rationale."

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