Community Forum Discusses State Redistricting and its Impacts

The League of Women Voters of Santa Clara County is hosting an event Wednesday night to discuss redistricting and what that means for local communities, like Cupertino.

The event takes place at the Orchard City Banquet Room at the Campbell Community Center, 1 W. Campbell Ave. Doors open at 7:15 p.m., coffee will be available, and the event is scheduled to go to 9:15 p.m.

Presentations will begin at about 7:35 p.m. In typical league procedure, residents with questions will write them down on cards to be collected and then answered by the speakers.

The two speakers are Susanne Wilson, chairwoman of the Redistricting Commission, former Santa Clara County supervisor and first woman president of the Association of Bay Area Governments; and Terry Christensen, San Jose State University political science professor, specializing in state and local politics.

"Our goal is to inform people, because we think redistricting is a significant issue," says Shirley Hill, vice president for programs for the League of South West Santa Clara Valley.

Hill says residents interested in attending should be interested in learning what has happened with the redistricting committee and what the league thinks will be the results.

Cupertino, now represented by Paul Fong, in the 22nd Assembly District, Joe Simitian in the 11th Senate District and Mike Honda in the 15th Congressional District, will be in new Assembly Districts 24 and 28, Senate District 15 and Congressional District 17.

The maps will take effect in time for the June 2012 primary, unless the courts issue an order precluding their use.

For more information on the event, call 408-867-8683.

Sheila Sanchez and Alejandro Lopez de Haro contributed to this story.