New revelations exposing how labor unions shamelessly rigged the “non-partisan” redistricting process in San Diego is providing case study for how the critical process of drawing legislative district lines can be hijacked by the radical left using multiple front groups.
The “independent” redistricting commission in San Diego, America’s 8th largest city, is charged with drawing lines for the city’s eight (soon to be nine) council districts in a fair and non-partisan manner. In a city where Democrats have failed to elect a mayor in decades and just lost a seat on the city council in 2010, taking control of the redistricting process was a top priority, starting with the formation of the city’s redistricting commission.
Local television reporter Steve Bosch blew the lid off how the unions worked through two local left wing groups to plant liberal activists on the commission and control its staff.
Empower San Diego is the first union front group used to help recruit, cultivate and put forward potential appointees to the redistricting commission, whose members were selected by retired judges. The group brags on its website that it “directly helped recruit and support seven applicants” for the redistricting commission, three of whom were ultimately appointed. The group is clearly ideological: it “advances progressive values and fosters local civil society by promoting civic participation and facilitating collaboration among community-based organizations.”
The three liberals the group succeeded in planting on the commission are: Theresa Quiroz, a “community advocate” who is the “co-chair of the Affordable Housing Coalition” and – surprise! – the Vice President of Empower San Diego; Carlos Marquez III, the “Director of Community Programs and Public Affairs for the San Diego LGBT Community Center,” and David Potter, who has a long record of making financial contributions to Democrat candidates for a variety of offices.
The commission’s credibility was crippled enough through the appointment of liberal “affordable housing” advocate, the PR guy for the LGBT community center, and a long time Democrat donor. Yet it took another hit when the commission hired its Executive Director: Midori Wong. The 24-year old has no known experience in redistricting whatsoever, but she is a graduate of the political training programs of the liberal New Leaders Council, whose mission is to “train and support the next generation of progressive political entrepreneurs…”
The three directors of the San Diego chapter of the New Leaders Council are: Colin Parent, an official with the local League of Conservation Voters; Carlos Marquez III (yes, the same one who was appointed to the redistricting commission), and Evan McLaughlin, the Political and Legislative Director for the local AFL-CIO Labor Council.
Remarkably, the commission claims it can still conduct its work of drawing fair and impartial council district lines, despite its three members pushed by union-backed Empower San Diego and an Executive Director who is the product of a liberal political training program with connections to the local AFL-CIO labor council.
Watch the KUSI news story: Controversy Surrounds San Diego Redistricting Commission
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