New California political boundaries get initial approval

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New political boundaries for California were approved Friday by a special remapping commission.

The process now moves to two weeks of public comment before a final vote.

Most members of the panel said they were satisfied that they had balanced the demands of the state’s many ethnic, social and cultural groups in drafting the maps for the state’s congressional, legislative and Board of Equalization districts. [Updated, 2:14 p.m. July 29: The maps above are from the first draft of the redistricting process. The Times plans to make the newest maps available as soon as possible.]

“I think this is a fantastic set of maps,” said Commissioner Peter Yao, a Republican who is the former mayor of Claremont. “We made every attempt to satisfy as many people as we could. I think across the board most people will feel satisfied with the maps. No doubt about it, these maps are fair.”

-- Patrick McGreevy in Sacramento