Belmont’s redistricting process is narrowing in on creating a district map that keeps eastern neighborhoods together and deciding on details for an at-large mayor by its March 8 public hearing.
Belmont is moving to district-based elections from its at-large system after receiving a July 30 letter from attorney Kevin Shenkman representing the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project alleging violations under the California Voting Rights Act due to using an at-large election system. Shenkman, who frequently sends similar letters to other cities, alleged the at-large voting system resulted in minority vote dilution, citing the lack of Latino and Asian representation. Belmont voters currently choose all five councilmembers who live anywhere in the city. A district-based election will divide the city into a set number of districts, with one councilmember living in the district chosen by voters residing in that area. Voters would only vote within their section. The council has expressed interest in having an at-large mayor with four districts. An at-large mayor would be an elected position representing and voted on by the entire city. A rotating mayor would be an honorary title that switches between the council. The council held its third public hearing Feb. 22 to look at potential options for its four district map and reiterated its desire for an at-large mayor.
The council stressed that a permanent mayor gives the public a chance to elect two elected officials instead of one, gives Belmont a regional leader, and promotes unity in politics. Mayor Julia Mates, who also sits on the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, said the regional presence of an at-large mayor was key to her support for the position.
“There’s a chance you will have people who are potentially concerned about just their neighborhood or their district and you might lost some of the voice Belmont has gained in participating on these regional boards,” Mates said.
“I think more voter choice is a good thing. I think the at-large mayor, if configured properly, would actually give the voters more chances to vote for the people that represent them,” Vice Mayor Tom McCune said.
“It is my fervent hope that it’s going to be the glue that makes this work really well together and keeps this Belmont government from becoming too parochial,” Councilmember Warren Lieberman said of an at-large mayor. “For the most part, the elected councilmembers will need to be responsive to the concerns in their district, but hopefully not at the expense of the city.”
However, several residents spoke against an at-large mayor and wanted more public input meetings. Some favored switching to a five-person district with a rotating mayor. Belmont resident Jennifer Lien spoke at the meeting and wanted to delay a final March 8 map decision. She wanted more community input, to include public drawing map options for five districts and have more discussions about the pros and cons of the at-large mayor. She expressed concern an at-large mayor may open the city to further litigation and noted most San Mateo County cities have decided against an at-large mayor. Only San Bruno has an at-large mayor system.
“Belmont council owes it to their citizens to provide more time for community input and discussion on an alternative option of five districts with a rotating mayor. This is absolutely necessary to improve the transparency and credibility of your recent hasty actions,” Lien said in a letter to the city.
Public comment and council feedback prioritized keeping communities east of El Camino Real and Highway 101 together in an eastern district. Of particular importance was keeping the eastern Sterling Downs and Homeview neighborhoods together. The council favored a map with an east, west and two central districts. The eastern district would include Sterling Downs, Homeview and areas east of Highway 101. The western would include Plateau-Skymont and Belmont Heights. Others emphasized considering schools as communities of interest.
“It’s incredibly important to me that Sterling Downs and Homeview stay together, and that necessitates that the Belmont Shores area, the Farallon area stay together. I think the areas east of El Camino need to be in one district,” Councilmember Charles Stone said.
“I’m going to sound like a broken record, but definitely keeping Homeview and Sterling Downs together [is important],” Councilmember Davina Hurt said.
The district-based elections will be in place for the November 2022 council elections. The city is in a time crunch and must complete the process by April 12. The March 8 meeting will see the council decide on map boundaries, the term of the at-large mayor and if the election cycle of the at-large mayor will start in 2022 and 2024.
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