That’s easy, you say? Don’t be so sure; the boundaries are about to change. Every 10 years, following the U.S. Census, the county is required to redraw the lines to balance the population. With extra people showing up in both the Fifth and Second Districts this past decade, you can expect the borders to shift somewhat.
The job of drawing the new squiggles will be performed by the Humboldt County Redistricting Committee — which includes Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich, Sheriff Mike Downey, District Attorney Paul Gallegos and Assessor Mari Wilson — and they’re welcoming public input in a series of meetings.
Hey look! There’s one Wednesday night!
The dates are as follows:
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July 13, 6-8 p.m. Agricultural Center, 5630 South Broadway, Eureka
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July 14, 6-8 p.m. Mad River Grange, 110 Hatchery Road, Blue Lake
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July 25, 6-8 p.m. Rio Dell City Hall, 675 Wildwood, Rio Dell
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July 26, 6-8 p.m. Scotia Fire Hall, 145 Main Street, Scotia
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July 27, 6-8 p.m. Redwood Acres Fairgrounds, 3750 Harris Street, Eureka
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July 28, 6-8 p.m. Arcata City Hall, City Council Chambers, 736 F Street, Arcata
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July 29, 6-8 p.m. Fieldbrook Elementary School, 4070 Fieldbrook Road, Fieldbrook
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Aug. 16,1:30 p.m. Humboldt County Board of Supervisors Chambers, 825 Fifth Street, Eureka
This article appears in Last Call for Coho.
They really needed two separate meetings for Scotia and Rio Dell?
Yet no meeting in McKinleyville or Fortuna, and nothing in SoHum?
Frankly I’m not surprised about them dissing SoHum, but I am a bit surprised that there isn’t a meeting scheduled for Fortuna or one for McKinleyville.
I guess the ones in Fieldbrook and the two in Scotia and Rio Dell are fairly close to those larger towns, but it does seem like an odd choice to not have meetings in the major population centers of McKinleyville and Fortuna,.
Perhaps it’s because they’re considering breaking Rio Dell and/or Scotia away from the 2nd District to add to the 1st District, and considering splitting Filedbrook off from the 5th District to add to the 3rd District, whereas they’re pretty sure McKinleyville and Fortuna will stay intact in their current districts? Just a thought.