Letter: Keep Santa Cruz together

EDITOR,
The California Citizens’ Redistricting Commission has released its latest version of California’s voting districts, and unfortunately, there isn’t much improvement over the first draft that fractured Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley. This version has Santa Cruz County split down the middle, tacking Scotts Valley, the west side of Santa Cruz, and all communities to the west (Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Lompico, Zayante, Davenport and Bonny Doon) onto a U.S. Congressional district where the majority of the population resides in the cities of Los Gatos, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Mountain View. As with the first draft, this version of the maps divides our community in half and mutes the voice of thousands of voters.
I understand that there are many factors to consider in drawing district lines, but surely there must be better options than sacrificing the unity of a small community like Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz and its outlying communities are a close-knit, cohesive unit.
Together, we are a community of interest. We share the same newspapers and media, we share the same culture, we share the same shopping areas. We are connected by geography, infrastructure, schools, friends, family, work, culture, recreation, resources and interests.
To carve off the western half of Santa Cruz County and tack it onto a district that includes several large cities many miles away would be like wearing tennis shoes with a tuxedo: It just wouldn’t be a good match.
Santa Cruz, Aptos, Capitola, Soquel, Scotts Valley, Felton, Ben Lomond, Boulder Creek, Lompico, Zayante, Davenport and Bonny Doon are a community of interest. We belong together, and we are much more connected with the rural communities to the south, such as Monterey, than with the huge metropolises to the north.
The redistricting process is moving very fast — the commission must finalize the maps and send them to the Secretary of State for approval by the end of July. The commissioners have asked for comments, and if we don’t want our community divided, we must let them know it, loud and clear.
Pam Newbury, Bonny Doon