Gilroy Mayor blasts union-backed county redistricting plan

Bad-faith redistricting does not honor and respect established communities of interest, and instead favors partisan political interests. Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley argues that the proposed union-backed county gerrymander, also known as the Yellow Map, is an example of bad-faith redistricting, as it would dilute south county residents' voting power.

Marie Blankley, Gilroy Mayor:

South County fundamentally differs from the rest of Santa Clara County in that our residents do not enjoy the job growth, transportation services, or the income levels of the rest of the county. Our demographic is that of a rural community with ties to agriculture, the polar opposite of the densely-populated uber-urban San Jose communities proposed by the Yellow Map for District 1. The contiguity we currently share with the more rural areas of the county would be lost, and our voices overpowered by communities without common interests.

Gilroy in particular is geographically removed from all incorporated areas of the county, bordering no other city 360 degrees around. We are challenged to “fit in” with our own county, and our residents who need housing they can afford can’t compete for affordable housing based on AMI thresholds that include Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, etc. As a result, affordable housing in Gilroy goes largely to those moving to lesser expensive Gilroy who then need to drive north to work because public transportation options are not yet viable from Gilroy. Meanwhile, traffic congestion worsens.

Gilroy cannot go backwards. Our voices should not be undermined by redistricting efforts for political purposes clearly evident by the “finger” borders of the Yellow Map. District 1 should retain contiguity of the more rural areas so that needs like transportation and fire protection are more similar within the district.

Re-creating District 1 to combine Gilroy, San Martin and Morgan Hill with the dissimilar interests of Cambrian, Communication Hill, Evergreen and Silver Creek, knowing that the combined population of the former is much smaller than the latter, is to manipulate the vote. The proposed Yellow Map undermines the influence of the only voice south county has.

-- Marie Blankley, Gilroy Mayor

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