New Plan Would Make Changes to Lungren's District

Fair Oaks residents may not find themselves voting in a different congressional election after all.

After two years of work, the 14-member California Citizens Redistricting Commission released draft plans for new congressional and state districts for the entire state on Friday. In the new scheme, Fair Oaks would fall in a congressional district that roughly follows the borders of eastern Sacramento County. The 3rd District, now held by  Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River), stretches from Solano County to the Nevada line. 

Michelle Romero, a redistricting fellow at the advocacy and public policy firm Greenlining Institute, said the changes are designed to give each district an equal population.

"We saw that a lot of the coastal districts were underpopulated for this cycle," Romero said. "The inland areas and more northern areas are more over-populated ... [There are] definitely a lot of changes in Sacramento and even the Bay Area."

The plans show new boundaries for California's 53 congressional districts, 40 state senate districts and 80 state assembly districts, as well as districts for the state Board of Equalization, which handles taxation issues. The districts, which are currently not numbered, will be further revised before the August deadline.

Romero encouraged residents to speak their opinions at commission meetings, as the body "is weighing in-person testimony rather heavily."

Continue to check back with Patch for more information about these proposed districts.