Council Approves New District Maps

The Redondo Beach voted unanimously to give final approval to new district maps at a contentious meeting Tuesday evening, despite a motion to move the from one district to another. The maps were originally approved Aug. 2.

Councilman , who represents District 4, reintroduced a motion to move the new district lines so the power plant becomes part of District 3, which is represented by Councilman . The plant is currently part of District 2, which is represented by Councilman , an .

The ensuing discussion was marked at times by applause and jeers from the audience, as well as continued reminders from Mayor and City Attorney asking the councilmen to limit their comments to the redistricting topic at hand.

"Especially in North Redondo, we disproportionally share the development impacts of this city ... As a result, what's being proposed is that the South Redondo beach districts expand and the North Redondo Beach districts contract," Diels said when he explained his motion. "There are virtually no residents that are in the area so it doesn't affect the population count."

Brand called the motion "an incredible waste of time," to which many in the audience clapped and yelled, "Agreed!" The District 2 councilman added that he thought Diels' motion was illegal because it was moving district lines because of reasons other than population.

To Brand's repeated arguments over the legality of the motion, City Attorney Mike Webb replied, "You are deliberately trying to find the answer that you want."

Brand and Jim Light, the founder of Building a Better Redondo, have been vocal opponents of AES' plans to repower—or rebuild—the plant. They cite figures saying that the power plant only runs 5 percent of the time, yet it is one of the top 100 polluters in the state and the No. 1 polluter in the Redondo Beach area.

Light is campaigning for a citywide initiative to re-zone the land the plant is on from industrial to an area designated for parkland and commercial use.

Aust, who seconded Diels' motion, said he supported the idea of changing the district lines around the power plant because "Councilman Brand has openly taken the position that he wants to close down the AES power plant."

"I am not, quote, 'Making a power play'—no pun intended—of trying to take over the power plant," Aust said, adding that he thought Brand's position on the power plant was akin to the leader of a firing squad being the jury foreman for a trial.

Councilmen Steve Aspel from District 1 and Matthew Kilroy from District 5 both defended Diels against verbal and written attacks in emails, blog posts and at the meeting itself.

People who were saying that Diels moved to change the district lines around the power plant because he received a $3,000 campaign contribution from AES are "off-base," Aspel said, noting that he would vote against Diels' motion. "That would be idiotic to criticize him for [saying he's not ethical]."

Kilroy agreed.

"I personally believe Diels has the best interests of Redondo Beach … at heart and that's what is motivating him," the District 5 councilman said. "[I'm] not saying I agree with it; I'm just saying that's where I believe his motives lie. I would never doubt his integrity or reasons for doing this."

Gin expressed similar sentiments saying that "at the end of the day, each one of these gentlemen [members of the council] has the best interests of our community at heart."

Nevertheless, Gin also said he disagreed with Diels' motion.

"The harbor has always been part of District 2 ... you have a large industrial plant there," he said. "I don't think that carving it out for District 3 is very productive."

Diels withdrew his motion after the discussion, saying, "If you come up with novel ideas, you can be severely attacked ... My position on the area around the power plant is that it's an eyesore, it's blighted, and it hasn't changed in many, many years, so I proposed a change."

Still, Diels made his distaste for Brand's politics known.

"I'm sorry [Brand] feels that doing his duty is a waste of time," Diels said. "He's a sitting city councilmember who has sued the city."

Brand took offense, asking Webb to confirm whether he, personally, has sued the city. Webb replied that Brand had not.

Multiple Redondo Beach residents expressed their opposition to or support of Diels' motion; however, many said the motion was simply politically motivated.

When one resident said that Brand should not be encouraging a business to leave the area, another resident, Dr. Andrew Lesser, replied, "Corporations did not elect Bill Brand—people did."

Shortly before the vote to finalize approval of the new districts, Brand tried to defend his stance against the plant.

"I wanted to say that I'm not against AES ... They're a good, solid American company," he said. "The state may, in fact, tell AES to retire their plant in Redondo Beach."

Editor's note: This article has been modified from its original version to reflect a correction made in the comments.