Millbrae narrows maps to 5

“All five of us want the best for our Millbrae,” Mayor Anne Oliva said after a lengthy council discussion. “We have to take into consideration all the public comment and we have to take into consideration the rules that we have to abide by.”

Currently, the city’s entire population casts votes for all five councilmembers who rotate the mayor and vice mayor roles. District elections will mean voters will choose a single councilmember, who must also live within the district, for representation.

The council was previously presented with maps drawn by a districting consultant hired by the city, but opted to go with those drawn by community members that were deemed to better keep intact the city’s neighborhoods. Also taken into account were several dozen pieces of written testimony from residents to inform where “communities of interest” exist in the city.

Communities of interest could include those with similar concerns like flooding, wildfires, airport noise or cut-through traffic. They could also be ethnic communities or those with similar socioeconomic standings, like areas with mostly renters. The council’s goal is to not divide such communities between districts.

Some of the five districts will require minor tweaks to comply with state law, which requires districts to not deviate in population size by more than 10%, in addition to appearing contiguous and compact on a map. State law imposes a deadline of March 1 for the city to adopt a map.

“We are on a bit of a tight deadline here,” Mayor Oliva said, who pushed the council to narrow down its selection amid frustrations from councilmembers regarding the complexity of thoroughly reviewing each potential map. “It’s never going to be picture perfect. It’s a huge decision,” she said.

Councilmember Reuben Holober voiced support for maps G and H. Map H, he said, he liked due to its “hub and spoke” design, where all five districts met near a central point. He previously expressed approval for a configuration similar to Map G due to it containing multiple districts along the downtown and El Camino Real corridor.

Councilmember Anders Fung also signaled his support for Map G, noting it kept the neighborhoods of Mills Estate and Bayside manor intact, among others. It also, he said, had one of the highest percentages of “Hispanic or Latino” voters in a district closest to the airport.

“It gives us a great opportunity to elect councilmembers to represent the Hispanic community,” he said, noting three of the five districts in the map where minority majority districts with Asian and “Hispanic or Latino” voters combined outnumbering white voters,

Councilmember Ann Schneider voiced approval for Map H, noting it split fewer neighborhoods compared to other arrangements. She said she did not support Map G due to it splitting the Highlands neighborhood where she lives.

The city’s switch to district elections was spurred by a threat of litigation it received last year that claimed the city was in violation of the California Voting Rights Act. The letter alleged that certain ethnic groups in the city have seen their votes “diluted” as a result of at-large elections, and the effect is a council that does not represent the population’s ethnic makeup. Given the difficulty involved with disproving the allegation, the city chose to not take the matter to court, which would likely have resulted in millions of dollars in fees.

Hundreds of cities in the state, including several in the county, have received similar threats and have also been forced to make the switch in recent years.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

(650) 344-5200, ext. 105