Senator Yee's 8th District continues 2 more years, then gone

 San Mateo County Times/Aaron Kinney, 3/18/12. "Redistricting gives San Mateo County a power boost."

San Mateo County will get a nice perk out of redistricting: two years of extra representation in the state Senate. Because of a quirk in the process of redrawing the state's electoral maps, county voters will get to elect a new state senator this November and keep the current one, Leland Yee, who has two years left in his second term. But some other Bay Area voters will go without an elected state senator until 2014.

It's a conundrum that occurs every 10 years when the state's legislative boundaries are redrawn. This time around, it means a temporary boost in clout for the central Peninsula. "Having an extra senator gives the county a greater voice," Yee said. "We may be able to cobble together enough votes to push through things the county really needs." The phenomenon is known as acceleration, which stems from California's staggered elections for its 40 Senate districts. Odd-numbered districts are up for a vote this year, while even-numbered districts aren't up until 2014. There's no such problem in the Assembly, where all seats are contested every two years, as opposed to four.

"Pacifica looks like Hawaii to me."

With most of San Mateo County changing from Yee's even-numbered Senate district, the 8th, to an odd-numbered district, the revamped 13th, many voters will return to the polls in 2012 just two years after casting a ballot in Yee's re-election bid. Other accelerated areas include Napa County, half of San Francisco, and parts of Alameda, Santa Clara, Voters whose districts switch from an even number to odd have the opposite circumstance: They spend two years as political orphans. The Senate plans for these regions, known as deferred areas, by delegating interim representatives. There are several deferred areas for 2013-14 in the Bay Area: Marin County, Castro Valley, Santa Clara and a sliver of San Jose.Solano and Sonoma counties.

"We take those areas and sort of hand them out to the logical successor that we presume would be representing that area," said Greg Schmidt, secretary of the California Senate. Voters in Marin County, for instance, may wind up being represented by Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, since they'll become part of her newly drawn 2nd District in 2014. A redistricting guru downplayed the practical importance of acceleration and deferral, cautioning San Mateo County residents not to pop any Champagne.

"It's probably better to be accelerated than deferred," said Paul Mitchell, owner of consulting firm Redistrict Partners. However, he added, "It's not like you're going to get a new college out of it or anything."  As for Yee, his 8th district is headed east, where starting in 2014 it will encompass a vast swath of territory from the Sierra Nevada foothills to the Nevada border. Until then, Yee will serve his phantom district in San Mateo County and western San Francisco while planning a 2014 campaign for California secretary of state.  Yee said his record of legislative accomplishments in the realm of open government dovetails nicely with the responsibilities of the office.

Posted by Kathy Meeh