The redistricting map continues to generate discussion, disagreement and threats. Now, the Liberal League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo county is asking to join a lawsuit challenging the county’s new map for supervisors. The Citizens For Good Government filed a lawsuit against the county in January over the new map. It’s most often called the Patten Map, after the south county man who created it, Richard Patton.
The group claims the supervisors, and I quote, “Wrongly applied and flagrantly ignored the redistricting requirements set forth under California’s Fair Maps Act.”
The map has been a thorn in the side of supervisor Bruce Gibson because he is forced to campaign for votes in the north county, which he has maligned for over a decade. He votes against supervisors John Peschong and Debbie Arnold on nearly every item to come before the board of supervisors, whether it be water regulations, land use issue, or cannabis restrictions.
In last week’s supervisors meeting, he criticized the map which Richard Patten created. During the candidates forum at Atascadero high school several weeks ago, Gibson became unglued over a question about the map and elections. He brought up the map’s creator, Richard Patton.
So, the debate over the map and the election continues, and it will continue after the June primary.
The League of Women Voters never protested when redistricting put the Cal Poly campus into the north county’s fifth district. Nor was there any outcry from the League of Women Voters when the map’s boundary was drawn around the house of one San Luis Obispo councilwoman to prevent her from running for supervisor in one district.
