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Alameda County Launches New Redistricting Process

The next hearing will occur on Tuesday, Oct.12 at noon on Zoom (Access the meeting link at: https://redistricting2021.acgov.org/meetings/)

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Alameda Redistricting Flyer; "Our Community Has Changed"

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors held a Special Meeting Tuesday to hear public input on redistricting.

The county will begin redrawing districts for its five Board of Supervisors. Redistricting is the process of adjusting existing district boundaries and must occur every 10 years after the population data is available from the decennial Census.

The City of Oakland is also underway with redistricting for its city council and corresponding school board districts. Those new maps will be approved by an Independent Redistricting Commission, as was approved by voters in a 2014 ballot measure.

Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors will vote on the final maps, which must be passed with a 2/3 majority.

Census 2020 data shows that Alameda County grew by 10.7% over that last 10 years and is now home to 1,682,353 residents. More data will be released soon to reflect which Supervisorial districts are too large and which districts are too small in population as currently configured.

With the passage of the FAIR MAPS Act (Fair and Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions), state law now requires counties to follow specific timelines and requirements for their redistricting processes, including holding at least four public hearings, ensuring language access, publishing all materials and meeting information on a website, and collecting input from the public in multiple formats.

“Alameda County is exceeding the new transparency laws for our redistricting process. We’ve even procured a mapping tool to allow the public to draw their own “Communities of Interest” and to propose district maps,” said Casey Farmer, director of community engagement for Alameda County Redistricting 2021.

“Public input is vital to this process, so we’ve made it easy to engage in many ways,” said Farmer. “By taking a few minutes to share your “Communities of Interest,” you will ensure the Board knows which areas you want to remain intact in the new district boundaries.”

Members of the public can engage in the redistricting process in multiple ways, including sharing their Communities of Interest (a geographic area of residents who share economic or social interests) using an online mapping tool, submitting written input or phoning in feedback. The public can also speak at any of the eight Redistricting hearings.

The new district maps must abide by the following criteria: Comply with US and California Constitution (which requires equal population amongst districts), comply with federal Voting Rights Act (to protect race and language minorities), maintain geographic contiguity, and uphold geographic integrity (minimizing the division of neighborhoods, local Communities of Interest “COIs”, or unincorporated areas). District boundaries should be easily identifiable and understandable by residents, should be compactly configured, and cannot favor or discriminate against political parties.

The County’s Redistricting website contains detailed information about the process, the timeline, videos, multilingual outreach materials, and the online Community of Interest mapping tool: https://redistricting2021.acgov.org/

The next hearing will occur on Tuesday, Oct.12 at noon on Zoom (Access the meeting link at: https://redistricting2021.acgov.org/meetings/)

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 13 – 19, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 13 – 19, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of March 6 – 12, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 6 – 12, 2024

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Alameda County

Michael P. Johnson Garners Major Support in Run for Alameda County Superior Court Judge

Michael P. Johnson is running for Alameda County Superior Court Judge, Seat 12, after having been appointed as a temporary judge over the past five years. Hon. Charles Smiley, presiding judge of the Alameda County Superior Court, said he had “personally observed Michael’s professionalism as judge pro tem, and his work as a pro tem judge ranks among the finest in our country.”

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Hon. Michael P. Johnson Ballotpedia photo, Hon. Winifred Y. Smith, (ret.) ADR Services photo, Hon. Charles Smiley GovDelivery photo.
Hon. Michael P. Johnson Ballotpedia photo, Hon. Winifred Y. Smith, (ret.) ADR Services photo, Hon. Charles Smiley GovDelivery photo.

By Post Staff

Michael P. Johnson is running for Alameda County Superior Court Judge, Seat 12, after having been appointed as a temporary judge over the past five years.

Hon. Charles Smiley, presiding judge of the Alameda County Superior Court, said he had “personally observed Michael’s professionalism as judge pro tem, and his work as a pro tem judge ranks among the finest in our country.”

As a resident of Alameda County for over 30 years, Johnson served as assistant vice president and senior counsel for AT&T and Warner Media.

Johnson said, “For decades, I have been an active member of the Alameda County Bar Association (ACBA) as well as the ACBA’s non-profit Volunteer Legal Services Corp. (now, Legal Access Alameda).

“I have been honored to have served as the president of the Board of Directors for both organizations. I am a lifetime member of the Charles Houston Bar Association, a non-profit organization comprised of African American lawyers, judges, and law students throughout Northern California.”

Hon. Winifred Y. Smith (ret.), a past presiding judge for the county said, “The Alameda County Superior Court needs Michael Johnson. He is smart, has great judicial temperament and is a man of the community. I have known Michael for over 15 years and can attest to his qualities and qualifications to serve on the Alameda County Superior Court bench.”

Johnson told the Post that he was also a member of CABL (California Association of Black Lawyers) as well as the National Bar Association (a global network of African American attorneys and judges) and the American Bar Association.

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