Pasadena Launches Community Workshops on Redistricting

The City of Pasadena invites residents and community members to learn about redistricting and get prepared to share their ideas about how shifts in population might affect the borders of the seven City Council districts.

Every ten years, cities with districts must conduct a redistricting process to ensure the proper balance of populations between all districts. The completion of the 2020 Census prompted the process to take place in 2021. The Pasadena City Council formed a Redistricting Task Force to focus on this important effort, review changes in populations and demographics in the City, and recommend a redistricting plan to the Council.

Seven community workshops are planned in the coming weeks, starting with the first workshop on June 26 in District 2 and concluding with a workshop on August 5 in District 5. These seven identical workshops will be held in each District to ensure the process comes to every corner of the community, with residents highly encouraged to participate. Additionally, each workshop will be available via Zoom, so residents will have a choice to attend in-person or participate online. Each workshop is open to all residents in the City, providing options to choose a date and location that is most convenient. Details about the schedule of upcoming workshops can be found on the City’s website at cityofpasadena.net/redistricting.

“The redistricting process takes place every ten years in Pasadena. As part of this current cycle, there are new rules in place set forth by the State of California, and we want to ensure the public is properly informed and engaged,” said Vince Farhat, Redistricting Task Force Chair. “A primary emphasis of the Task Force is on public input, transparency, and education. District elections affect how we elect our representatives on the City Council, so the process is foundational to representative democracy. It is an important effort and a unique civic engagement experience.”

Each meeting will last two hours. The content shared will include a history of redistricting in Pasadena, a review of the current laws that govern the process, an overview of the timeline to complete redistricting, an explanation of communities of interest, and a demonstration of mapping tools the public can utilize to define communities of interest and eventually submit redistricting plans for the Task Force to consider.

The Task Force is composed of 12 members appointed by the City Council. Their names are:

Vince Farhat (Chair)
Rita Moreno (Vice Chair)
Adriana Lim
Patrice Marshall McKenzie
Delano Yarbrough
David Coher
Margaret McAustin
Terry Tornek
Donald C. Nanney
Jordan Vannini
Geoffrey L. Baum
Francis Chen

Residents are encouraged to visit cityofpasadena.net/redistricting to stay informed and sign up for email alerts as new information and events come available