2023-03-14 Item No. 12_ Raincross Brent Lee

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Mayor Lock -Dawson and Members of the Riverside City Council, Date: 3-14-23 Item No.: 12 Thank you forth e opportunity to once again comment on the Reshape Riverside Redistricting process. The Raincross Group was formed to promote good governance in the City of Riverside through recruiting, developing, and supporting good leaders in our community. We applaud the City's extensive public engagement process for this effort, knowing that it is a vital part of determining the future of our City and its future leaders. As the City changes overtime, the periodic requirement to update Ward boundaries is an important component of ensuring effective civic representation and engagement. We recognize that the City Council has a number of elements that are both required and desired to be considered including: • Maintaining the geographic integrity of local neighborhoods and communities of interest • Ward boundaries that are easily identifiable and understandable by residents • Encouraging geographic compactness to ensure nearby populations are not bypassed in favor of more distant populations • Ward boundaries should not be established for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against political parties • Ward boundaries should contain equal populations of residents and be geographically contiguous • Boundaries need to comply with all applicable laws and regulations With three separate map proposals remaining, the Raincross Group would like to reiterate the following principles as the City Council makes its final selection. We believe these principles will help to build trust in the City's governance structures, the redistricting process, and the resulting outcome. The final adopted map should: 1) Improve the representation of historically under -represented populations. 2) Be easily understood by the public. 3) Provide for the most equitable representation for the broadest number of residents possible. 4) Ensure that effective and equitable representation rather than gaining political advantage is a primary factor in the drawing of boundaries. 5) Avoid the appearance of gerrymandered districts by containing easily identifiable boundaries that keep neighborhoods and communities together. With those principles in mind, the Raincross Group recommends that the Cit v Council adopt either Map A3 or A4 as the final map at the March 14, 2023 meeting_ Maps A3 and A4 both meet the requirements and desired goals of the Reshape Riverside process as well as the principles noted above in order to advance effective, diverse, and equitable representation in the City. The following elements are important components of Maps A3 and A4: • Keeps the highest numbers of neighborhoods together, thereby minimizing divisions of neighborhoods and communities of interest. • Ensures easily identifiable and understandable lines for residents without overly complicated boundary shifts that do not otherwise measurably further the interests of neighborhoods and communities. • Broadens community representation through the inclusion of: 0 4 of 7 wards designated as majority minority districts o A minimum representation level of 52.2% for majority minority districts • Best maintains the geographic compactness of the proposed districts, avoiding the appearance of gerrymandering. Thank you for the opportunity to provide input as apart of this process. The Raincross Group appreciates the emphasis on transparency and accessibility throughout the redistricting process. We look forward to the adoption of a final map that best ensures effective, equitable, and diverse representation for the residents of the City of Riverside. Sincerely, cc Mayor City Council City Manager Brent Lee City Attorney ACMs RAINCROSS GROUP PRESIDENT City Clerk