By Robert Haugh

After the census, the County reviews and redraws its supervisorial district lines. 

Currently, the entire city of Santa Clara is in District 4, represented by Supervisor Susan Ellenberg. She’s a San Jose resident.

Here are the requirements for candidates for the County’s 2021 Advisory Redistricting Commission:

• must be a registered voter in the County, 
• must serve from June through December, 2021 and attend all meetings, 
• must be have experience that shows the individual can apply state and federal laws, and 
• must not be an elected official, or a family member of an elected official, a staff member or part of a paid campaign staff to an elected official.

Ten commissioners will be appointed next month to the 15-member commission. Then, five seats will be filled in August and September.

“Our efforts during the 2020 Census to ensure an accurate count, combined with the process we’ve put in place now for redistricting, will make sure that supervisorial district boundaries are redrawn to best reflect and serve our diverse community,” county Executive Jeffrey Smith said. “While some jurisdictions in our nation try to suppress the vote, we at the County of Santa Clara came up with a clear, transparent mechanism to empower our residents and improve voter representation.”

Commission meetings will start in July. Public hearings will be held from August to October with review of possible maps.

You can find applications at countyexec.sccgov.org. Applications are due at 9 a.m. on June 1.