Election transition moves ahead

Residents mostly inquired about the process and some submitted draft maps to be considered by the City Council at a Feb. 11 public hearing. Maps can also be submitted online.

Draft maps must contain seven districts, each with a population of about 10,974 with the difference between the largest and smallest districts no more than 1,097 people. Those numbers are based off of Redwood City’s 2010 census data. While that data is outdated, state law requires it to be the basis of any district maps adopted before 2020 when the next census is taken. Redwood City will draft new district maps following that 2020 census.

Some residents were concerned about the accuracy of any district map used before 2020 because of the population changes the city has seen in recent years, but Deputy City Manager Alex Khojikian assured them that the council is fully aware of the areas that have seen significant growth — downtown, for example — and will factor that into its decision making.

Draft map submissions are not exactly overflowing at City Hall of late and Khojikian hopes participation in the process will ramp up now that the holidays are over.

Redwood City is transitioning because it received a letter from Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman, who threatened litigation if the city did not voluntarily adopt a by-district system, meaning councilmembers are voted on by a specific district or ward in which they live.

Shenkman claimed the city’s current at-large system in which all residents can vote for all council candidates violates the California Voting Rights Act because it “dilutes the ability of Latinos (a ‘protected class’) to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of the city’s council elections.”

The council reluctantly agreed to make the transition in September and since decided to create seven voting districts with a rotating mayor appointed by the council, as is the current practice.

Wednesday’s meetings were the first of five community meetings on the transition in addition to the scheduled public hearings.

Any resident who would like to weigh in on district boundaries is encouraged to submit a draft map or any form of input before that February meeting and there will be opportunities to weigh in after the meeting as well.

A demographer hired by the city will draft several sample maps for the council to consider at the February hearing and those maps will be based on the ones submitted by the community. All maps submitted by the public will also be compiled in an attachment to the staff report for that hearing.

The city’s fourth public hearing on the transition will be Feb. 25 and for that meeting, the public is invited to weigh in on the draft maps as well as the sequence of elections. A map and election sequence will be selected at a meeting March 11, and will be made official in an ordinance that will see a second reading March 25.

City officials are still looking into whether or not a charter amendment is necessary to complete the transition, and if it is, then residents will vote on it in March 2020.

The first by-district elections will be held in four districts in November 2020 and the other three districts will hold its first elections in November 2022.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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