Background on Commission

In accordance with the Voters FIRST Act (Act), the California State Auditor randomly selected the first eight members of the first Citizens Redistricting Commission (Commission) on November 18, 2010. These first eight commissioners—three who are Democrats, three who are Republican, and two who are either Decline-to-State or are registered with another party—were part of the 36 eligible applicants that remained in the sub-pools after the legislative leaders, exercised their authority to make strikes and eliminated the names of 24 applicants from the pool of 60 of the most qualified applicants identified on September 23, 2010 by the Auditor’s Applicant Review Panel (Panel). The Panel reviewed and evaluated the applicants based on criteria set forth by the Act approved by voters in November 2008; including relevant analytical skills, the ability to be impartial; and a demonstrated appreciation for California’s diverse demographics and geography.

Rotating Chair/Vice Chair Chart
Session	Date	Location	Chair/Vice Chair	Commissioner Name	Party
1	January 12-14, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Yao Dai	R D
2	January 20-21, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Yao Dai	R D
3	January 26-28, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Dai Ward	D R
4	February 10-13, 2011	Claremont	Chair Vice Chair	Ward Galambos-Malloy	R DTS
5	February 23-27, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Galambos-Malloy Filkins Webber	DTS R
6	March 10-13, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Filkins Webber Blanco	R D
7	March 22-25, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Blanco Ontai	D R
8	April 7-8, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Ontai Aguirre	R D
9	April 13-16, 2011	San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield, Hanford, Merced	Chair Vice Chair	Aguirre Barabba	D R
10	April 27 – May 1, 2011	Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Gabriel, San Fernando, Lancaster	Chair Vice Chair	Barabba Dai	R D
11	May 5-6, 2011	Norco, Santa Ana	Chair Vice Chair	Dai Yao	D R
12	May 12-14, 2011	Palm Springs, San Marcos, San Diego	Chair Vice Chair	Yao Ancheta	R D
13	May 19-24, 2011	Auburn, Santa Rosa, Oakland, Salinas, San Jose, Oakland	Chair Vice Chair	Ancheta Barabba	D R
14	May 26-27, 2011	CSU, Northridge	Chair Vice Chair	Barabba Galambos Malloy	R DTS
15	June 1-2, 2011	McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Galambos Malloy Ontai	DTS R
16	June 7, 2011	McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Ontai Aguirre	R D
17	June9-10, 2011	McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Aguirre Filkins Webber	D R
18	June 16-20, 2011	Culver City, Whittier, Fullerton, San Bernadino, San Diego	Chair Vice Chair	Filkins Webber Blanco	R D
19	June 22-25, 2011	Oxnard, Fresno, Stockton, San Jose	Chair Vice Chair	Blanco Yao	D R
20	June 27-28, 2011	San Francisco, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Yao Dai	R D
21	July 1, 2011	McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Dai Filkins Webber	D R
22	July 6-8, 2011	McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Filkins Webber Ancheta	R D
23	July 11-14, 2011	McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Ancheta Ontai	D R
24	July 20-22, 2011	McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Ontai Galambos Malloy	R DTS
25	July 26-28, 2011	McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Galambos Malloy Barabba	DTS R
26	August 13-15, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Barabba Aguirre	R D
27	September 15-16, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Aguirre Filkins Webber	D R
28	October 3, 5-6, 20-21, 2011	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Filkins Webber Forbes	R DTS
29	November 2, 16, 2011 & January 18-19, 2012	Sacramento & Culver City	Chair Vice Chair	Forbes Yao	DTS R
30	February 1-2, 2012	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Yao Raya	R D
31	February 16 – March 22, 2012	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Raya Ontai	D R
32	March 28 – May 31, 2012	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Ontai Dai	R D
33	June 1 – December 31, 2012	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Forbes Raya	DTS D
34	February 12, 2013	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	Forbes Raya	DTS D
35	TBD	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	TBD TBD	D DTS
36	TBD	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	TBD TBD	DTS D
37	TBD	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	TBD TBD	D DTS
38	TBD	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	TBD TBD	DTS R
39	TBD	Sacramento	Chair Vice Chair	TBD TBD	R DTS

Meet the first eight commissioners!

Watch the video of the selection of the first eight commissioners.

The first eight commissioners selected the remaining six members of the Commission. Together these members will form the full 14-member Commission. The first eight commissioners must conducted their business publicly in a series of meetings beginning November 30 and ending on December 15, and followed California’s open meeting law, the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. They were charged with selecting two applicants from each of the subpools. Prior to making those additional selections of the final six members of the Commission, the first eight members chosen by the State Auditor’s Office were provided training on California’s diverse demographics and geography; the responsibilities of the Commission as set forth in the Voters FIRST Act; and the process for performing redistricting, including the use of computer software to draw district lines.

The final six members selected and approved on December 15, 2010 are:

Gabino Aguirre
Angelo Ancheta (Sworn in 2/10/11 as Elaine Kuo’s Replacement)
Maria Blanco
Lilbert “Gil” R. Ontai
Michael Ward
Michelle R. DiGuilio
M. Andre Parvenu

You can see the application material for all the commissioners here.

What will the full Commission do?

The 14-member Commission is made up of five Republicans, five Democrats, and 4 not affiliated with either of those two parties but registered with another party or as decline-to-state. The Commission must draw the district lines in conformity with strict, nonpartisan rules designed to create districts of relatively equal population that will provide fair representation for all Californians. The Commission must hold public hearings and accept public comment. After hearing from the public and drawing the maps for the House of Representatives districts, 40 Senate districts, 80 Assembly districts, and four Board of Equalization districts, the Commission must vote on the new maps to be used for the next decade. To approve the new maps, the maps must receive nine “yes” votes from the Commission—three “yes” votes from members registered with the two largest parties, and three “yes” votes from the other members. The role of the Commissioner is further described here.

Need Reasonable Accommodations?

If you need a reasonable accommodation in order to participate, please contact us, at 1-916-709-6303 or send a letter or e-mail specifying the accommodation you are requesting to votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov or use the address below.

How was the Commission formed?

Who Serves on the Commission?

Need More Information?

Use our toll-free number 916-709-6303, send us an e-mail at
votersfirstact@crc.ca.gov or send written requests to:

Citizens Redistricting Commission
915 Capitol Mall, Suite 200
Sacramento, CA, 95814

California Citizens Redistricting Commission

Navigation