Guest Opinion | Dr. Mikala L. Rahn: Pasadena Unified Redistricting Commission Did Its Job Properly, And Well

As a member of the Redistricting Commission and past PUSD Board Member, I would like to put forward some final thoughts on the process.

• The Commission was organized late for sure and then after vetting consultants to conduct the analysis, the one we selected disappeared. The only solution in our late stage was to go with Davis Demographics. I had worked with them before when I was the Chair of Master Planning so I was thrilled when Scott Torlucci came on board.

• Mr. Torlucci had an impossible timeline, but I knew he would deliver as he always has.

• We added exceptional consultants of Allegra Consulting to the team and we were set.

Now I have been on a lot of dysfunctional Commissions and Committees, this was not one of them. This assembled group was diligent, asked good questions, listened, looked at communities, and tried very hard to understand their very limited role. This process was not about race in drawing lines, because it was not legal. In the end, it became a task of cleaning up lines so communities made more sense and limiting variance by district which in the end we unanimously selected the map with the least variance.

I completely disagree with Board Member Kim Kinne that this was not “a robust process.” It was. I am not sure how Board Member Patrick Cahalan can be “dissatisfied with the process” since I do not recall him attending any of our commission or public meetings. There is no “disenfranchising thousands of voters.” This hair-on-fire language is not helping this community move forward. This is a normal process that happens every 10 years. And quite frankly, PUSD is new to Board members being elected by subdistricts. Up until 2013 we were a District at large and now we have better representation because we have elections by subdistricts. We have a better chance with subdistricts of running strong candidates that are Latino, African American, Armenian, Asian, and women.

I think the vote on the redistricting map we put forward to the School Board on February 24 speaks more to the fragmentation of the Board right now than about redistricting. In my opinion, the Redistricting Commission has become the scapegoat for bigger problems the District is facing; COVID, declining enrollment, and budget challenges. Somehow, someway, the Board needs to figure out how not to be dissatisfied with their process and how not to disenfranchise each other, and to build trust among each other. To the PUSD Board: Focus on the students, not the politics. Fellow Commissioners, it was truly a pleasure finally being on a productive, well-intended Commission. Thank you for your service.

Dr. Mikala L. Rahn, Former PUSD Board Member and Redistricting Commission Member