The unincorporated areas of Alpine, Rancho San Diego and Jamul showed the most growth in East County from 1990 to 2000, the census showed. The census figures appeared to show some dramatic increases and some unexpected declines in the populations of some of East County's unincorporated areas. However, many of those changes are actually the result of changes in the U.S. Census Bureau's boundaries since 1990. But the thing that stands out in East County's census figures is not growth but race, for the region lags behind the state and county in its diversity. I tell them it is not redneck because I live there and my neck is not red.
Minorities also have little political representation in East County.
Butcher said she's the only African-American appointed to any East County commission, while La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid, who is Hispanic, is the only minority elected to any East County city council. The minority community still doesn't have the economic or political clout. Madrid noted that La Mesa has had a large increase in Hispanics and Asians since 1990, but he said some people of color are still hesitant to settle in the region. East County has always had the reputation that it's the home of the rednecks, the pickup trucks and the gun racks. However, East County's racial numbers don't fully reflect the area's cultural diversity.