OC communities should vote with OC residents
A Sacramento appointed Redistricting Committee has redrawn voting lines for Assembly and State Senate by scooping out Orange County communities of Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, and Cypress and dumping them into the Long Beach voting district. Our state representatives must reflect the values of constituents which was often the reason Los Angeles County residents moved into Orange County. While the Redistricting Commission expressed that these stated three Orange County communities shared common interests that statement is NOT TRUE; the only real commonality is geographic.
Orange County communities should vote with other Orange County residents. Our communities intermingle via the cultural and social thread of companionship achieved through utilization of the SAME THINGS: same sheriff /police departments, same Orange County Board of Edu-cation, same utility companies, same County mandates, same transit, same County Supervisors, same Diocese, same entertainment venues, same businesses and same desire for freedom of speech.
There are other major differences: Housing: there are more renters in Long Beach than in the three Orange County communities. Long Beach homes average selling price is at @$600 thou-sand while Rossmoor average homes sell at 1.4 million. Schools: an economic income indica-tor is Free and Reduced Federal Breakfast/Lunch program; Long Beach Unified has 50% on Free & Reduced meals while three O.C. communities have less than 17% on free meals. Language level: Second Language Learners is14% in Long Beach while the three Orange County communities have 2.4% second language learners. CRIME: The Long Beach police do not cross the L.A./Orange County border to assist Rossmoor Sheriff, or Los Alamitos or Cypress police while the Orange County protective services work together. CRIME: the Long Beach crime rate is double the crime rate in the zip code area of 90720.
Email your redistricting opinions by mid-November: votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov
Karen Swenson
Resident Los Alamitos/Rossmoor
In support of Marlys Davidson
Marlys Davidson’s recent verbal mistake at last week’s LAUSD school board meeting is just that, a mistake. While her unfortunate verbalization echoed what many thought, it’s hardly a surprise considering the barrage of verbal abuse she and her fellow commissioners endured that evening and on a regular basis. Her positive contributions to education over the course of her career considerably outweigh the five seconds of comments she made to herself.
Cynthia Sells
Rossmoor resident
