April 27, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Asia Cunningham

LOU CORREA PRAISES GARDEN GROVE CITY COUNCIL FOR UNANIMOUSLY PASSING HISTORIC DISTRICT MAP

Garden Grove, CA - Following a long public hearing that lasted into the night, and after multiple comments from residents across the city, the Garden Grove City Council passeda new district map that will be in place for the November 2016 Elections. The new map, officially called "Submission 1" was also named for its author, Kim Nguyen.

Former Senator Lou Correa, who spoke to the council in favor of the map at the last public hearing, was excited that Kim Nguyen's map was passed:

"Kim's map received overwhelming support from diverse communities across the city and I am very pleased it passed unanimously. These new districts will bring fair representation to disenfranchised communities that have gone without representation for so long and will also bring residents closer to their elected Councilmembers."

Kim Nguyen, 26, the author of the map and an alumnus of Santiago High School, was able to bring together a historic coalition of Garden Grove Latinos and Vietnamese residents, in addition to several non-profit and voting rights organizations to endorse the map. The need for fair representation, especially in Garden Grove's eastern end, was frequently mentioned.

"As someone who represented parts of Garden Grove in the State Senate, it brings me great joy to watch the next generation of leaders there taking charge and creating change in their communities," Lou concluded. "I'm proud of Kim for bringing so many people together and I'm proud of the city council for doing the right thing and approving her map. This is a historic night and a true victory for the community."

The council also chose to put up districts 2,3,5,6, which includes both eastern districts. District 3, which is based around Little Saigon, will serve a two year term. The city of Garden Grove moved to district based elections following a CVRA lawsuit in 2015 and the council settled on 6 districts plus the mayor at-large in another settlement earlier this year.

Lou Correa served in the California State Senate, representing the 34th District, from 2006- 2014 and served the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster. Prior to the Senate, he served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors representing the 1st District. Before his time on the Board, Correa served in the California State Assembly representing the 69th District.

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