Supervisors Reject Expansion

The Board of Supervisors voted down an attempt today by Supervisor Kenneth Hahn to expand itself from five to seven members and set aside one of the two seats for a Latino district.

By expanding the board and including at least one supervisorial district in a heavily Latino area, the county would avoid a threatened lawsuit by the Justice Department, Hahn argued. But supervisors Pete Schabarum, Deane Dana and Mike Antonovich argued against expanding the board, citing increased costs and additional bureaucracy. Dana, however, has said he favors redistricting the existing five districts.