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Possible redistricting in El Cajon met with opposition from Chaldean community

A rally was held with the Chaldean community voicing their plea to the county to reconsider a plan to bring El Cajon into a district with central communities.

EL CAJON, Calif. — The Chaldean community in El Cajon is taking on the county trying to fight back against redistricting plans they say will break up their community. San Diego County’s independent redistricting commission is proposing new district lines bringing El Cajon into a district with central communities like Hillcrest and Mission Valley.

A rally was held Tuesday with the Chaldean community voicing their plea to the county. They were joined by El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells and other East County leaders. 

The group said it fear the maps and new redistricting lines will dilute their community and their voting power. With chants and signs, they said they are fighting to maintain their political power in rallying against a possible redistricting overhaul.

"We call upon the IRC to not break up a 50-year community of interest and save the community in which we love, work and pray," said Vincent Kattoula, a Chaldean community activist. 

The county’s independent redistricting commission proposal of new supervisorial district lines bringing El Cajon into one district with more central neighborhoods has residents worried.

"This is our home away from home," said Afaf Konja with Keep East County United. 

Konja said one of the main concerns is the Chaldean community losing the voice it has representing not only themselves but also other East County communities including some Muslim and Jewish groups.

"It’s basically the East County community with the same traditional and core values, especially here in El Cajon," she said. "So we don’t want other special interest groups saying they speak for us because really they don’t." 

El Cajon Mayor Bill Wells agrees.

"These changes would really bring the El Cajon area and take it out of the East County which historically it’s always been and bring it down to the City of San Diego," said Wells. 

Wells is calling the plan a political move catching the community by surprise.

"That’s a very thinly veiled attempt to really separate the communities based upon what I think is politics," he said.

There is a window open for public comment and a meeting discussing the new maps is scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the county administration center in Downtown San Diego. 

News 8 reached out to the county about the issue and received the following statement from San Diego County IRC chair David Bame: 

"The County of San Diego Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) is tasked with re-drawing the boundaries for the County’s five Supervisorial districts that include more than three million residents, using data from the 2020 Census.

The IRC deeply appreciates all public input it receives, including from El Cajon and all other areas of the County. The IRC especially appreciates the thousands of comments received in public hearings, electronic messages, and other avenues that describe the incredibly diverse communities of interest throughout the County that are sometimes complementary, sometimes competing. The IRC listens to all this input. The IRC uses statutory criteria in addressing this input, including priorities that district lines: must encompass reasonably equal populations; comply with the federal Voting Rights Act; and incorporate other factors. The same statutory criteria require that Districts lines not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent, political candidate, or political party.

Simply put, the IRC has a proven record of listening carefully to all public input and addressing it under the law. The IRC continues to welcome public input as it continues working on district boundaries that will ensure the fairest possible representation for all residents of the County."

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