July 23, 2010
New Redistricting Commission Applicants Representative of State’s Diversity
Sacramento – Public interest organizations that have been advocating for the successful implementation of a citizens redistricting commission applauded Thursday the efforts of the Bureau of State Audits to develop a qualified, diverse pool of candidates. The Bureau of State Audits has just finished narrowing the original pool of over 30,000 applicants for the new citizens redistricting commission to 120 individuals. The work was done by a three-member Applicant Review Panel (ARP) within the Auditor’s office. The public interest organizations issued the following statements:

“The State Auditor is demonstrating a sincere commitment to select a diverse pool of applicants who show relevant analytical skills, an ability to appreciate diversity, and impartiality. We are confident that the ARP will create a pool of 60 finalists that fulfills the mandates approved by the voters in 2008.” – Jim Mayer, Executive Director, California Forward “When 30,000 people initially applied to serve on the Citizens Redistricting Commission, we were all excited with the overwhelming citizen response. Now that the Applicant Review Panel has narrowed the applicants to 120 individuals to bring in for interviews, we are pleased that the racial diversity is very close to that of the state’s population: 12% are Black, 30% are of Latino heritage, 14% are Asian and/or Pacific Islander, and 5% are American Indian.

The Applicant Review Panel will be inviting the 120 applicants to an in-person interview to choose 60 finalists who will move on to the next stage of the selection process, in which the legislature will review the names and strike up to 24 names. The video of the selection process can be viewed at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.