Summary Description of California's 1990s State Senate Districts

The following maps represent 40 new districts drawn by California Supreme Court masters for the state Senate after the 1990 Census. Under the Court's plan, two adjacent Assembly districts were joined to form a Senate District. This procedure differs dramatically from the previous reapportionment, where Assembly and Senate districts were drawn separately and without regard to each other. In the district descriptions below, the paired Assembly districts for each Senate district are listed in parentheses. As with the Assembly, few of the districts are competitive between the two parties.

District 1 (39% D - 46% R) - (3rd and 4th Assembly Districts) MAP
The 1st District occupies the rural northeastern corner of the state, including the Mother Lode counties. Reapportionment strengthened an already strong Republican enclave, and the GOP registration edge has steadily improved throughout the 1990s.

District 2 (52% D - 32% R) -(1st and 7th Assembly Districts) MAP
Located on the northwest coast, the 2nd District is where timber, tourism and fishing interests frequently conflict. It generally favors Democrats.

District 3 (58% D - 22% R) - (6th and 13th Assembly Districts) MAP
Marin County, part of Sonoma County and the eastern portion of San Francisco. The district is 67 percent white, 13 percent Asian and 12 percent Latino.

District 4 (46% D - 40% R) - (2nd and 8th Assembly Districts) MAP
A sprawling district which covers the mainly agricultural counties flanking Interstate 5, from Yolo County north to the Oregon border. Both parties consider it competitive territory, although Republicans have held it since 1993.

District 5 (48% D - 41% R) - (10th and 17th Assembly Districts) MAP
The southern part of Sacramento County and almost all of San Joaquin County is no longer solid Democratic territory. Before reapportionment, Republicans constituted just 37 percent of registered voters, but GOP numbers have been strengthened. The district is 66 percent white and 18 percent Latino and produces spirited elections.

District 6 (51% D - 35% R) - (5th and 9th Assembly Districts) MAP
Sacramento County, where the district is 67 percent white, 13 percent Latino and 11 percent Black. Mostly solid Democratic territory, the Democratic registration edge has eroded during the 1990s to the point where the district is becoming much more competitive.

District 7 (44% D - 40% R) - (11th and 15th Assembly Districts) MAP
The 7th District includes most of Contra Costa County, held throughout the 1980s and early '90s by Democrat Dan Boatwright. But the conservative Boatwright is termed out in 1996, and the district likely will fall to a moderate Republican.

District 8 (57% D - 24% R) - (12th and 19th Assembly Districts) MAP
The western portion of San Francisco, and the part of San Mateo County south of San Francisco. The district is half white, 28 percent Asian and 15 percent Latino, but Asians account for only 8 percent of registered voters. Democratic registration is overwhelming, but since 1986 the district has been represented by an independent -- Quentin Kopp.

District 9 (68% D - 13% R) - (14th and 16th Assembly Districts) MAP
Oakland, Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito, Albany and Berkeley. The district is 41 percent white, 32 percent Black, 14 percent Asian, 13 percent Latino -- and a cake-walk for Democrats.

District 10 (54% D - 29% R) - (18th and 20th Assembly Districts) MAP
The 10th District covers most of the area along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay south of Oakland. The district is 57 percent white, 19 percent Asian and 17 percent Latino.

District 11 (45% D - 38% R) - (21st and 24th Assembly Districts) MAP
The southern part of San Mateo County and the southeastern part of the Santa Clara Valley. It includes the Silicon Valley and affluent, almost exclusively white enclaves south of San Francisco. Both parties have represented the district during the 1990s -- and each party's senator was a Stanford professor.

District 12 (48% D - 40% R) - (25th and 26th Assembly Districts) MAP
When the decade began, registration here favored Democrats by a 55 percent-to-31 precent margin. The gap is much closer now, pointing out the dramatic Central Valley shift toward the GOP, especially here in the northern portion of the San Joaquin Valley. Minorities account for 33 percent of the district's population, including the 24 percent who are Latino. A Democrat represented this area until 1994, when he was ousted by a Republican.

District 13 (52% D - 29% R) - (22nd and 23rd Assembly Districts) MAP
Most of San Jose, in addition to the cities of Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. Whites make up 49 percent of the population; Latinos are 29 percent and Asians, 18 percent.

District 14 (40% D - 48% R) - (29th and 32nd Assembly Districts) MAP
The southern San Joaquin Valley. Republicans gained a firmer foothold here thanks to reapportionment; they once were 40 percent of registered voters. Whites are 72 percent of the population, Latinos are 20 percent.

District 15 (51% D - 32% R) - (27th and 28th Assembly Districts) MAP
A coastal district below the San Francisco Bay area that includes all of Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, as well as the more rural portions of Santa Clara County. Registration numbers alone would indicate that this district is only marginal for the majority Democrats. But independents along the coast -- unlike their cousins inland -- tend to prefer the environmental and social policies of Democrats to the conservatism of Republicans. Indeed, the politics of this district, too, will be split by the Coast Range, which separates the Salinas Valley (28th Assembly District) from the coast (27th Assembly District). The Inland part is much less inclined to be Democratic than the part along the coast. The population is 59 percent white and 30 percent Latino.

District 16 (56% D - 33% R) - (30th and 31st Assembly Districts) MAP
A sparsely populated and heavily Latino area in the southwestern part of the San Joaquin Valley, this rather elongated district is centered on Interstate 5, and has a hook at the southern end which divides Bakersfield in order to gather in the minority parts of that city. The result is a district with a 51 percent Latino population and overall 64 percent minority population. It includes all of Kings County, as well as parts of Fresno, Kern and Madera counties. This is a decent Democratic district, with a 32 percent Latino registration.

District 17 (35% D - 49% R) - (34th and 36th Assembly Districts) MAP
A physically huge desert district located almost entirely in the Mojave, east of the Sierras and north of the San Gabriel Mountains. All of Inyo County is included, as is the northern two-thirds of San Bernardino County, with the cities of Barstow and Victorville. The southern 60 percent of Kern County and a chunk of northeast Los Angeles County, with the Antelope Valley (Palmdale and Lancaster) also are packed into the 17th. Over 50 percent of district voters live in LA County, and 55 percent of them are Republican. Another third lives in San Bernardino, and it, too, leans heavily toward the GOP.

District 18 (43% D - 41% R) - (33rd and 35th Assembly Districts) MAP
The counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and the northern part of Ventura county, including the cites of Ojai, Santa Clara and Ventura, make up this coastal Senate District. Despite a decided Republican lean, SD 18 has been held by Democrats, since even the Republicans who live here tend to worry about the environment and be socially more liberal than their GOP colleagues elsewhere. In addition, independent voters along the coast tend to gravitate more toward Democrats on election day. The district's population is 72 percent white, with a Latino population of 22 percent.

District 19 (39% D - 45% R) - (37th and 38th Assembly Districts) MAP
The northwest corner of Los Angeles County and the Ventura Freeway corridor into Ventura County make up this solid Republican district. It includes the communities of Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo and Oxnard in Ventura County and Chatsworth, Northridge and Castaic in Los Angeles County. The population here is about 65 percent white, with Latinos the largest minority group at 24 percent of the population but only 10 percent of registered voters.

District 20 (57% D - 28% R) - (39th and 40th Assembly Districts) MAP
This is the district in Los Angeles County's San Fernando Valley that has the largest minority population, 58 percent overall and 46 percent Latino. However, Latinos make up less than 15 percent of registered voters. The district contains Pacoima, Van Nuys, North Hollywood and Studio City. It is safe for a Democrat who can appeal to the working-class population that lives in much of the district.

District 21 (44% D - 41% R) - (43rd and 44th Assembly Districts) MAP
Although fairly solid Republican territory north of downtown Los Angeles, this district also has seen its GOP registration erode more than five points since 1991. SD 21 crosses from the San Fernando Valley to the San Gabriel Valley, collecting the wealthier suburbs of Pasadena, La Canada, Sunland-Tujunga, Glendale, Burbank and combines them with the communities near Griffith Park in Los Angeles. There is a substantial Latino population here, about 22 percent, but it's a much smaller percentage of the voting population.

District 22 (63% D - 20% R) - (45th and 46th Assembly Districts) MAP
The heavily Latino population of East Los Angeles has been collected in this district. Two-thirds of the population is Latino, and there is a substantial Asian minority at 16 percent. The district is safe for a Democrat.

District 23 (54% D - 30% R) - (41st and 42nd Assembly Districts) MAP
This district covers the West Los Angeles, including Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Westwood, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Malibu. It also reaches into the San Fernando Valley to take in Woodland Hills. This area has long been a mainstay of liberal Democrats who mine much campaign gold from its affluent residents. The registration is deceptively narrow. Democrats have long held the area secure.

District 24 (58% D - 27% R) - (49th and 57th Assembly Districts) MAP
The Latino population in the San Gabriel Valley has been collected in this district. It includes the cities of Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, El Monte, La Puente, Baldwin Park and Azusa. The district is 60 percent Latino, and that group has about 40 percent of the registered voters. In the past, though, Anglo politicians have won here.

District 25 (71% D - 14% R) - (51st and 52nd Assembly Districts) MAP
Latinos actually outnumber Blacks in this district that includes the cities of Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Lynwood and part of Compton as well as South-Central Los Angeles and Watts. But few of the Latinos vote here, and Blacks effectively control the political process in this safe-Democratic district.

District 26 (77% D - 10% R) - (47th and 48th Assembly Districts) MAP
This is the second district drawn with the African-American population in mind. It includes the communities of Culver City, Crenshaw, downtown Los Angeles and the northern edge of Watts. More than 80 percent of the population is minority. Less than half of that is Black, but that group should have little trouble winning since Latinos and Asians are largely unregistered.

District 27 (47% D - 39% R) - (56th and 54th Assembly Districts) MAP
The Palos Verdes Peninsula communities, San Pedro and part of Long Beach combine with the more inland cities of Lakewood, Cerritos, Bellflower and Downey to make up what had been a solid Republican district but whose registration has shifted more and more toward the Democrats during the 1990s. It's a blend of affluence and working class, but if Democrats have a small chance to win the inland portion of the district, that has been eliminated by combining it with coastal areas like Rolling Hills Estates. The population is about 60 percent white, 20 percent Latino and 13 percent Asian. The voting population, though, is nearly 90 percent white.

District 28 (51% D - 33% R) - (53rd and 55th Assembly Districts) MAP
The policy of combining two Assembly districts to make a Senate district occasionally brings together strange bedfellows, as is the case here. AD 53 contains the coastal communities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach and is mostly white and solidly Republicans. But AD 55, drawn to be Black-dominated, includes the southern portion of Carson, the Wilmington area and part of Long Beach. That will make the politics in this Senate district tricky. In the 1990s, it has represented by the oldest member of the Legislature -- Democrat Ralph Dills.

District 29 (41% D - 45% R) - (59th and 60th Assembly Districts) MAP
This is the eastern-most district in Los Angeles County and includes the northeast corner of the San Gabriel Valley, with Monrovia, San Dimas, Covina, Claremont and part of Pomona, as well as the communities West Covina, Diamond Bar, Hacienda Heights and the eastern portion of Whittier. The adjacent 24th District juts into the middle of this one in order to create a Latino enclave in the area. This one, however, is safe for Republicans.

District 30 (64% D - 23% R) - (50th and 58th Assembly Districts) MAP
A heavily Latino district carved out of the communities east of downtown Los Angeles. This district includes Huntington Park, South Gate, Maywood, Bell Gardens, Norwalk, Montebello and Pico Rivera as well as the western edge of Whittier. The Latino population here is 75 percent.

District 31 (39% D - 47% R) - (63rd and 65th Assembly Districts) MAP
The 31st District combines two Assembly districts from San Bernardino and Riverside counties with the smallest minority populations. It includes Loma Linda, Upland, non-minority San Bernardino city, Redlands, Yucaipa, Big Bear and Twenty-Nine Palms in San Bernardino County south of the San Gabriel Mountains; and fast-growing Riverside County communities of Moreno Valley, Hemet and San Jacinto. Whites here outnumber minorities better than two-to-one in raw population, and closer to 9-to-1 in registered voters. This is the Senate district involved in a 1996 GOP swap between two termed-out legislators: Senator Bill Leonard ran for the Assembly and Assemblyman Jim Brulte ran for this Senate district.

District 32 (51% D - 36% R) - (61st and 62nd Assembly Districts) MAP
The 32nd District combines two San Bernardino County Assembly districts with large minority populations. It includes the Latino part of Pomona from Los Angeles County, then extends east through Ontario, picks up the part of San Bernardino city that has concentrations of minority residents, plus the cities of Rialto, Colton and Fontana. The overall district is 40 percent Latino, although only about 20 percent of the district's Latinos are registered to vote. Blacks are 11 percent of the district; Asians, 5 percent. More than 40 percent of Latinos here are under age 18. As they mature, and if they become politically active along traditional lines, this district likely will become a fairly safe Democratic enclave.

District 33 (29% D - 56% R) - (71st and 72 Assembly Districts) MAP
The 33rd District, which looks like a dog leaping up interior Orange County, includes some of the most Republican territory in the state. Included within its boundaries are the south county communities of Orange, Tustin and eastern Anaheim, up through Fullerton, La Habra and Yorba Linda. More than 70 percent of the district is white, 18 percent Latino, 8 percent Asian and 2 percent Black.

District 34 (45% D - 42% R) - (68th and 69th Assembly Districts) MAP
An Orange County district that combines two minority-laden Assembly districts. The result is a nearly 60 percent minority district, encompassing parts of Garden Grove, nearly all of Buena Park, Santa Ana, and central and western Anaheim. The district is 44 percent Latino, but Latino clout is diminished by the fact that barely one-in-six is registered. Another 13 percent of the district is Asian.

District 35 (31% D - 53% R) - (67th and 70th Assembly Districts) MAP
Coastal Orange County, wealthy and Republican, including the cities of Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Irvine, Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa. Whites outnumber minorities better than three-to-one.

District 36 (37% D - 50% R) - (64th and 66th Assembly Districts) MAP
The 36th District lies mostly in Riverside County, with a smidgen of sparsely-populated San Diego County (Fallbrook and Mt. Palomar areas) thrown in for good measure. Its Riverside County communities include the city of Riverside, Corona, Lake Elsinore, Temecula and Norco. Two-thirds of the population is white, while Latinos add another 24 percent. In the 1980s reapportionment, the Republican chunk of this district was concentrated with GOP precincts from Arizona to the Pacific. The result was a Republican fortress surrounded by districts friendlier for Democrats.

District 37 (37% D - 46% R) - (75th and 80th Assembly Districts) MAP
Rural San Diego County, all of Imperial County and eastern Riverside County make up a large geographical district. San Diego contributes the northern part of the city of San Diego, Santee, Poway, Ramona and the desert regions around Borego Springs. Riverside cities include Beaumont, Banning, Palm Springs, Indio and Blythe. The district has a large Latino population, mostly rural and situated in Imperial and Riverside counties (28 percent). But as with other Latino communities, it is not politically active (only 12 percent of registered voters). Asians and Blacks combined account for less than 6 percent of district population.

District 38 (30% D - 52% R) - (73rd and 74th Assembly Districts) MAP
Southern Orange and northern San Diego counties make a very healthy GOP enclave. The district takes in San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Mission Viejo in southern Orange County; Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Del Mar and Escondido in San Diego County. It is mostly white (75 percent) and Latino (18 percent).

District 39 (38% D - 40% R) - (76th and 78th Assembly Districts) MAP
The San Diego County district with the smallest minority populations, the 39th District lies entirely within the city of San Diego, from Rancho Bernardo in the north to Mission Bay and Coronado in the south. It includes Balboa Park, La Jolla and other well-known San Diego landmarks. Whites outnumber non-whites by better than two-to-one in population and probably 10-to-one in registered voters. It is slightly GOP, but also independent-minded. Incumbents of all stripes have not fared well here during the 1980s. Dumped have been four city council members, an assemblyman and a member of Congress. The area was represented in the Senate by members of both parties during the 1980s, and has been held by a Democrat-turned-independent since 1990.

District 40 (43% D - 36% R) - (77th and 79th Assembly Districts) MAP
The San Diego County district with the greatest concentration of minorities, the 40th takes in National City, the city of San Diego east and south of National City, Chula Vista, and the inland cities of Lemon Grove, La Mesa and El Cajon. It also includes the only Democrat-leaning part of San Diego County (79th Assembly District). A minority-dominated district (55 percent) in terms of population, the 40th is 32 percent Latino, 10 percent Asian and 11 percent Black. However, barely one-in-five Latinos is registered to vote; one-in-24 Asians is registered. Thus, the voting power of the district's minority communities is diluted.