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Ong on Repercussions of Census Undercount

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Director of the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge Paul Ong was featured in the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and Long Beach Post discussing the results of the 2020 Census and its impact on communities of color. Accurate census counts are crucial for the distribution of federal aid and congressional representation, but Ong’s analysis of the census data suggests that Hispanic and Black populations may have been undercounted more than other groups. “There is strong evidence that undercounts in the 2020 census are worse than in past decades,” he said. Ong noted that renters, undocumented immigrants and low-income households were also undercounted, partially due to the disruption caused by the pandemic and the Trump administration’s attempt to include a citizenship question. “The big-picture implication is it will skew the redistricting process, our undercounted neighborhoods will be underrepresented, and populations that are undercounted will be shortchanged when it comes to the allocation of federal spending,” Ong concluded.

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Manville Weighs in on ‘Duplex Bill’

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Associate Professor of Urban Planning Michael Manville was featured in a Los Angeles Times article about the prospects of Senate Bill 9, which would allow for multifamily homes to be built in neighborhoods currently zoned for standalone houses only. Under the “duplex bill,” owners would be able to subdivide their properties and build up to four homes on each formerly single-family lot. According to Manville, SB 9 is a key opportunity to build housing in California, if it can survive the political process intact. “[Two recent] amendments are basically a step away from the bill’s original vision,” he explained. “A bill like SB 9 was always going to produce the most housing when there weren’t restrictions on who might occupy the housing that gets built on one of these parcels.” Manville added that in the new version of SB 9, “now you’re talking about a homeowner that wants to be a developer, and that’s very different from a homeowner that’s looking to sell their parcel.”

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Yaroslavsky on High Stakes of Recall Election

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Director of the Los Angeles Initiative Zev Yaroslavsky spoke to the Orange County Register about voter turnout in the upcoming recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Yaroslavsky explained that when Republicans started mobilizing to get enough signatures to put the recall of Newsom on the ballot, most Democrats didn’t think the governor was actually in trouble. “They thought ‘He can’t possibly lose. This is a blue state,’” Yaroslavsky said. Now that ballots are being mailed out and the recall election is drawing near, Democrats have been rolling out anti-recall efforts and encouraging voters to vote “no.” Yaroslavsky predicted that as Newsom’s campaign ramps up, voter engagement will also pick up. “People are starting to focus on the stakes and what it means for Newsom to be out of office,” he said. “The stakes are pretty high, and everybody needs to know it.”

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Latinos Fueling Population Growth, Diaz Says

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Sonja Diaz, executive director of the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative at UCLA Luskin, spoke to Univision about the political power of the growing Latino electorate. Newly released data from the 2020 Census confirmed that the non-Hispanic white population shrunk the most over the last decade in the United States while the populations identifying as Hispanic, Latino or multiracial grew. According to Diaz, the census data is integral to political voice and ensuring fair redistricting. “When we redraw the lines, we should see Latino political voice and political power protected under the Voting Rights Act and their ability to elect their candidate of choice,” Diaz said. While the census’ undercount of some communities is still unclear, Diaz predicted that the United States will continue to see population growth among Asian Americans and Latinos in the next few decades.

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Redistricting Is Not a Simple Math Problem, Diaz Says

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Founding Director of the Latino Policy and Politics Initiative Sonja Diaz was featured in an NBC News article discussing the importance of accurate representation through redistricting. The Census Bureau’s release of data from the 2020 Census illustrated the growth of the Latino electorate over the past 10 years and “we want to ensure, through data and advocacy, that Latino political power does not decrease in the 2021 redistricting cycle,” Diaz said. The census data is a valuable tool for Latinos advocating for redistricting that reflects changing demographics. “It’s not a simple math problem. There’s politics involved and every state has a different process for how lines are drawn, whether it is the legislature or independent redistricting commissions,” she explained. “Ultimately, this country has had a storied history of vote dilution against communities of color, including Latinos and especially African Americans.”

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Peterson Discusses Newsom’s Support Among Health-Care Workers

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Public Policy Professor Mark Peterson was mentioned in a Kaiser Health News article about support for Gov. Gavin Newsom among health-care workers as the recall election approaches. Although many Californians expressed frustration with Newsom’s approach to the pandemic, including closing businesses, keeping schoolchildren at home and mandating masks, health-care workers have credited those same pandemic measures for protecting them as frontline workers and saving the lives of numerous Californians. Now, health-care unions and trade associations have donated more than $4.8 million to the campaign to keep Newsom in office. “If you’re in health care or public health, the prospect of Newsom being booted from office is worrisome, especially if you want the state to continue combating the pandemic,” Peterson said. “I don’t think anyone who would be replacing the governor in the recall would be anywhere near as aggressive and might actually reverse the public health actions that have been taken.”

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Diaz on Providing a Pathway to Citizenship

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Sonja Diaz, executive director of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, was featured in a Spectrum News 1 interview about the recent ruling by a Texas federal judge that deemed Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to be unlawful. According to Diaz, the central question is “can we provide a pathway towards work, towards opportunity for people who have known no other country but the United States?” There are currently 800,000 DACA recipients in the United States, and about one quarter reside in California. “When immigrants don’t trust the government, they are likely to stay in the shadows, not report crimes that are committed against them and not deal with substandard working conditions,” Diaz warned. The ruling could have important implications for Latino voters in the 2022 midterm elections. “It’s certainly an issue that should drive Latino turnout in upcoming elections if the stakes are made clear with active outreach and dedicated engagement,” she said.

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Diaz on Engaging Voters of Color in Recall Election

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Sonja Diaz, director of UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, authored an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times about the importance of the upcoming recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Despite starting as a political distraction, the election is a valuable “opportunity for Democrats to build lasting relationships with the state’s nonwhite electorate,” Diaz argued. There has been a significant increase in registered Latino and Asian American voters, who will play a critical role in the 2022 midterms. While voter turnout is generally much lower in midterm years, the recall election in September will be an opportunity to build and maintain engagement with voters. Diaz recommended developing field campaigns and on-the-ground outreach to mobilize communities of color to vote “no” on the recall and keep Newsom in office. “If successfully engaged in the state’s political process, those voters will support future candidates committed to inclusive and progressive policies to help all Californians,” she wrote.

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Newton on Villanueva’s Uncertain Future

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Jim Newton, editor of UCLA’s Blueprint magazine, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s decline in favorability since his shift to the political right. In 2018, Villanueva campaigned for sheriff as a relatively unknown Democratic candidate and promised police reform and transparency. However, since being elected, Villanueva has resisted calls for greater transparency, pursued controversial hires and resisted multiple subpoenas. The sheriff responded to the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement and widespread demands for police reform by publicly rebuking local elected Democrats and working to increase the number of people permitted to carry concealed guns in Los Angeles County. The story cited UCLA’s 2021 Quality of Life Index, which found that Villanueva’s favorability has decreased since he was elected; he will be on the ballot for reelection in 2022. “Whether Villanueva is vulnerable depends in huge measure on who runs against him,” Newton said. “Without a credible opponent, none of this really matters.”

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