Foster City gets district elections

In June, resident and former mayor Jim Lawrence threatened legal action if the city did not take steps to adopt district elections, saying his Plum Village neighborhood, as well as others throughout the city, do not reap the same benefits of robust development and growth compared to other areas, as it is not proportionally represented on the council. 

Many cities in San Mateo County, including Burlingame, San Mateo, Menlo Park and Belmont, have made the change in recent years, many prompted by letters like Lawrence’s. A city’s chances of winning a CVRA lawsuit if it doesn’t immediately comply are grim. In fact, California hasn’t seen any cases where a jurisdiction won the battle, the report said.

District elections are meant to provide representation in communities that are often less resourced and, by extension, often find it hard to compete with deeper-pocketed candidates and groups in more affluent parts of a municipality. Councilmember Jon Froomin and Vice Mayor Stacy Jimenez agreed that, while it’s an important tool for cities like San Francisco or even Menlo Park, it’s not applicable to their 4-square-mile city, where different ethnic and racial groups are dispersed across all neighborhoods.

“I understand, and I appreciate, the intent of the legislation that is behind this, but I have to say, the way it is being enacted around the Bay Area, I think the results have been mixed at best,” Jimenez said. “In several elections, you have candidates run unopposed. That, to me, does not feel like good, healthy government process. It feels like what is happening is a shakedown, and the problem is that communities like ours, that are small, can’t afford to fight this.”

She added that the move would be less democratic, as it would mean residents would vote for one candidate once every four years, rather than multiple candidates every two. 

Over half the city’s population are of Asian descent, according to census figures, with white being the second highest population group — 33% — and then Latino at 7%. The Black population comprises less than 2% of the city’s total. The city’s elementary schools all have similar racial and ethnic compositions to each other as well, something public commenter Kay Ballantyne noted was evidence contrary to Lawrence’s claim of racial polarization. 

Ultimately, the council voted 4-1 to move ahead with the process, though most expressed reluctance to do so. The item will be discussed again in September and would likely go into effect in 2026.