aapis, you are needed on california's redestricting committee!

Calling all AAPIs in California... The Asian Pacific American Legal Center and other AAPI organizations are encouraging qualified individuals to apply for the new redistricting commission established by Proposition 11. The 14-person citizens commission will draw new maps for state legislative and Board of Equalization districts in 2011. How the new maps are drawn will determine whether AAPI communities are kept together or split unfairly.

As of yesterday (January 28, 2010), 548 of the 10716 applicants (5.1%) are Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI). However, AAPIs represent nearly 15% of the state's total population. Although the percentage of AAPI applicants has increased in the past two weeks, the deadline to apply is coming up fast. Unless additional people of color including AAPIs apply, there is significant risk that the commission will not reflect California's diversity. Up-to-date statistics can be found here.

If you're interested in being part of the commission, you must fill out an online form to apply for the commission. The form can be found at here and is due by February 12. APALC is working with eight partner organizations to conduct application workshops for interested individuals, happening throughout the state. Here are some details:

Contra Costa County Workshop
Wednesday, February 3, 2010, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Host: East Bay Asian Voter Education Consortium
Location: Orinda Library - Garden Room
26 Orinda Way
Orinda, CA 94563
To RSVP: Emily Chang, chang.emily@sbcglobal.net or (925) 997-8164
or Jenn Pae, jennpae@gmail.com

San Francisco County Workshop
Thursday, February 4, 2010, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Host: Asian Law Caucus
Location: Chinese for Affirmative Action, Community Room
The Kuo Building
17 Walter U. Lum Place
San Francisco, CA 94108
To RSVP: Carlo de la Cruz, carlod@asianlawcaucus.org or (415) 896-1701

Orange County Workshop
Saturday, February 6, 2010, from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon
Host: Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA)
Location: OCAPICA Office
12900 Garden Grove Blvd, Suite 214A
Garden Grove, CA 92843
To RSVP: Asma Men, amen@ocapica.org or (714) 636-9095 ext. 203

Alameda County Workshop
Saturday, February 6, 2010, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Host: East Bay Asian Voter Education Consortium
Location: East Bay Area Youth Center
2025 E. 12th Street
Oakland, CA 94601
To RSVP: Jenn Pae, jennpae@gmail.com

Los Angeles County Workshop
Wednesday, February 10, 2010, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Host: Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council (A3PCON)
Location: Asian Pacific American Legal Center
1145 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90017
To RSVP: Mark Masaoka, mark.a3pcon@live.com or (213) 239-0300

Santa Clara County Workshop
Wednesday, February 10, 2010, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Host: Asian Law Alliance
Location: Asian Law Alliance
184 E. Jackson St.
San Jose, CA 95112
To RSVP: Jacquelyn Maruhashi, alacensus@aol.com or (408) 287-9710

Additional workshops will be held in San Diego and Fresno. The schedule of workshops will be updated here. For more information about the commission or the workshops, please contact APALC at redistricting@apalc.org or visit the CAPAFR Facebook page here.

Here's also a good San Francisco Chronicle article on the lack of diversity in the redestricting panel's current applicant pool: Critics say redistricting panel needs diversity.