Newly sworn-in Assemblymember Avelino Valencia has already filed his first bill — and it’s an attempt to change how redistricting is done in Orange County.

Valencia’s bill seeks to create an independent redistricting commission charged with changing the boundary lines for the OC Board of Supervisors.

Redistricting, the changing of those boundaries, occurs every 10 years after the census to better reflect changes in population and demographics.

As the process works now, it’s up to the supervisors to pick new maps. Last year, supervisors began with maps submitted by the public and continued to make various revisions and tweaks until they eventually picked one.

Valencia, a Democrat and former Anaheim City Council member who was recently elected to the 68th district, said he didn’t file the legislation because he thought anything nefarious happened during the previous redistricting process. Instead, he said, he wants to ensure districts continue to be drawn fairly — and an independent commission, like the entity tasked with redrawing state-level seats, could do that.

“The bottom line is: in general practice, politicians shouldn’t be in charge of drawing their districts because there could be a time when that could be taken advantage of,” Valencia said.

Having an independent group draw boundary lines “would empower the citizens of Orange County with an independent process designed to avoid partisan conflicts or favoritism in district plans,” he said. “Furthermore, it protects voting rights and promotes equitable representation through the drawing of fair district maps.”

Supervisor Katrina Foley supports the proposal.

“I think an independent commission is probably a good idea so that we have engaged the community; we have a fair, nonpolitical process moving forward; and so that there’s equal representation,” Foley said.

During last year’s redistricting process, there was a bit of a kerfuffle over how the new District 2 was drawn. Foley was ultimately drawn into an entirely new area, and the Attorney General was asked to weigh in on when supervisors should be shifted out of their old districts and begin representing the new ones.

But Supervisor Don Wagner suggested partisanship could still be a factor in creating future maps — even with a committee with the “independent” moniker.

“In my experience, from watching the state commission, the partisanship on the left creeps in,” Wagner said, recalling how one member in 2010 was a donor to a Democratic Assemblymember.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see such gamesmanship after this bill becomes law, as almost inevitably it will given the partisan makeup of the legislature,” Wagner said. “The effort to take politics out of the political process of redistricting is a fool’s errand and, given the left’s omnipresent reach in California, will inevitably corrupt the process.”

Last year, the board made OC history when it created a Latino-majority voting district for the first time with District 2, anchored by Santa Ana.

County government owns — and in most cases manages — several properties, including beaches, a robust library system, landfills and John Wayne Airport. The Board of Supervisors oversees the budgets for county officials including the Sheriff and District Attorney, and county staff administers state and federal funds and programs.

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