When is comes to redistricting, the LGBT community has a lot to say about being recognized as a legitimate community of interest and working toward getting the central city united into one council district.

“Unless you see yourself represented, it’s hard to see yourself in the world,” said Steve Hansen, a community activist and a member of the former Citizens Advisory Committee on Redistricting.

Hansen and Rosanna Herber, chairperson of the LGBT Redistricting Committee, said members of the LGBT community worked tirelessly over the last several months to be recognized as a community of interest and be given a stake in the process. Their goal has been to finally see the central city united.

“We are a very diverse city,” Hansen said, “and our strength comes from that diversity.”

The LGBT Redistricting Committee was made up of representatives of the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, the Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, the Stonewall Democratic Club and other LGBT community leaders.

Herber said the group attended advisory committee meetings and testified before the committee at every opportunity.

“The common theme (of our testimony) was that a majority of our community live in the urban core and we don’t want to have it split any longer,” Herber said.

There are approximately 31,000 people in the grid which is shared by three council districts, Hansen said, and “(the people in the grid) have have a lot more in common with each other than the people in Natomas (who share a district) have with them.”

The standard of “one person, one vote” includes the notion of not diluting the electoral power of groups of people that have historically been subject to discrimination. By splitting the central city, Hansen said, that’s exactly what happens.

“The neighborhoods in the central city have been sliced and diced so much,” Hansen said. “The people there have no real electoral power.”

People in the grid share a common geography, a common cultural landscape – and common issues, Hansen said. People in other areas ignore those issues because they aren’t as affected by them.

Homelessness is one issue that Hansen said has been allowed to persist in the grid for so long because the majority of voters in each of the three districts that contain part of the core live outside that central area.

“Ultimately, none of the people who vote have any skin in the game,” Hansen said. “As long as the problem stays out of North Natomas, East Sacramento, Land Park or Curtis Park, people are perfectly fine with that.”

Hansen said that, although he feels the elected representatives do try, “ultimately their concerns are going to be concerns from where the majority of the (voters) are.”

“It’s political economy,” Hansen said.

From the LGBT point of view, it is important to have the ability to elect the candidate of their choice, Herber said.

Historically, there has never been an openly LGBT person elected to the City Council and Herber said, if there is ever going to be one, “we have to have our support united.”

“It’s one thing to have someone relay your concerns, but it’s better when they share your concerns,” Hansen said.

The advisory committee recommended four maps to City Council for redrawing district lines. Three of the maps unite the central city into one district.

“In the past, it doesn’t seem anyone was held responsible for redistricting, so we got lines that weren’t necessarily fair, they reflected the whims of the council,” Hansen said.

During the process, Hansen said his role on the advisory committee was as “a person who cares about the city,” and not as a representative of any community or organization.

“I was primarily concerned about the legitimacy of the process,” Hansen said. “I challenged the committee to remember that the public is watching us and they would hold us accountable.”

Hansen said that, after hearing all the public testimony, the advisory committee understood that there wasn’t a good justification for the central city to be broken up.

“We had to keep asking, ‘What’s best for the city? How do we do right by our communities?’ “ Hansen said.

Sara Freid, Interim Executive Director for the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center, said the response from the advisory committee to their testimony throughout the redistricting process was “positive and encouraging.”

“I feel like they listened to us,” she added. “It’s nice to be heard as a community.”

The LGBT Redistricting Committee will go to City Council Tuesday and participate in the public discussion on redistricting again, Herber said.

“We are going to ask the council to do what the advisory committee did,” Herber said. “Respect the LGBT community as a community of interest and see where our community lives, and keep the central core together.”

Hansen agreed.

“It’s the fair and just thing to do to make sure that the LGBT community – as a legitimate community of interest – is not just recognized by the process, but respected by it,” Hansen said.

The City Council has until about Aug. 26 to decide where the new district lines will be drawn.

Melissa Corker is a Staff Reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.