Statement: “I’m excited that District 4 is the most diverse City Council district in the city of San Diego,” Dwayne Crenshaw, a likely District 4 council candidate, said during a Dec. 14 appearance on NBC 7 San Diego.
Determination: True
Analysis: District 4 Councilman Tony Young will soon leave his council seat behind to take a new job with the local Red Cross.
Three likely candidates to replace Young recently appeared on NBC 7 San Diego’s “Politically Speaking.” (For more details on the race, check out this story .)
Cubbison asked aspiring candidates Dwayne Crenshaw, Barry Pollard and Bruce Williams about the historically low turnout in their district and how they’d get residents involved. The three have announced plans to run for the District 4 seat but haven’t filed official paperwork with the city because the special election hasn’t been scheduled yet.
Crenshaw acknowledged he expects only a small percentage of the District 4 voters to participate in the special election but said he looked forward to talking to residents of what he called “the most diverse city council district” in the city.
You can watch the conversation here:
District 4 has long been represented by black council members but last year’s redistricting process shifted the city’s political boundaries.
For years, the southeastern San Diego district included a southern portion of City Heights as well as the Oak Park, Paradise Hills, Encanto, Mt. Hope and Skyline neighborhoods.
District 4 lost its portion of City Heights during the redistricting process but stretched its boundaries to include Redwood Village and Rolando Park.
As former Voice of San Diego reporter Adrian Florido noted in July 2011, the district kept Oak Park and Webster, home to many of the district’s most politically active black residents.
We looked at the city Redistricting Commission’s finalized plans and the demographic profiles presented along with the new maps.
The data showed District 4 and District 8 are home to the largest number of minorities. The latter is represented by Councilman David Alvarez.
Here’s an overall look at non-white populations in City Council districts:
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| Graphic by Lisa Halverstadt |
While District 4 and District 8, which includes San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Barrio Logan, are the two most racially diverse districts, there’s an important distinction between the two.
Statistics compiled by the National Demographics Corporation, a Glendale, Calif.-based company that assisted the city with the redistricting process, reveal District 8 is mostly composed of Latinos. They make up about 75 percent of the district’s total population.
Latinos also dominate District 4. They make up 41.5 percent of the district’s population but there are more significant black and Asian populations there too.
Here’s a look at how the populations in the two districts compare:
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| Graphic by Lisa Halverstadt |
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| Graphic by Lisa Halverstadt |
The data proves Crenshaw is right, at least from a racial perspective.
Though District 8 has more non-white residents, District 4 has a more diverse population, so we’ve rated his statement True.
If you disagree with our determination or analysis, please express your thoughts in the comments section of this blog post. Explain your reasoning.
Lisa Halverstadt is a reporter at Voice of San Diego. Know of something she should check out? You can contact her directly at lisa.halverstadt@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.325.0528.
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Disclosure: Voice of San Diego members and supporters may be mentioned or have a stake in the stories we cover. For a complete list of our contributors, click here.