The Redwood City Council on Monday will have to begin the process of changing the city’s election system or likely face a costly and likely unwinnable legal battle.
Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman sent a letter to the city early August threatening litigation if it does not voluntarily transition from at-large to district elections for City Council, meaning councilmembers are voted on by a specific district or ward in which they live.
He claimed Redwood City’s current election system 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.”
Latinos comprise 39 percent of Redwood City’s population and currently just one of the city’s seven councilmembers, Alicia Aguirre, is Latina.
However, Aguirre isn’t the only racial minority on the council. Councilman Jeff Gee is Asian-American and Mayor Ian Bain is African-American.
If the council agrees to Shenkman’s demand, the first step of the transition process is to adopt a resolution of intent — that is the action the council will likely take Monday.
Staff’s recommendation to approve the resolution is not based on any admission that the city violated the CVRA, according to a staff report.
“Rather, the public interest may be ultimately better served by voluntarily transitioning to district-based elections due to the uncertainty of litigation to defend against a CVRA lawsuit and the potentially extraordinary cost of such a lawsuit, even if the city were to prevail,” according to the report.
The threshold to establish liability under the CVRA is extremely low, according to the report, and every government that has challenged the conversion to district elections has lost and been forced to pay millions in legal fees.
Shenkman has sent similar letters to numerous cities across California. A demographer working with Half Moon Bay, which is currently in the process of transitioning to district elections, said Shenkman sent letters to about 20 cities, including Pacifica, in the last month.
In San Mateo County, Menlo Park recently switched to district elections and South San Francisco is in the process of transitioning, as is the San Mateo County Harbor Commission.
Sequoia Union High and Redwood City Elementary school district officials and the county Board of Supervisors made similar choices as well. The San Mateo County Community College District adopted the by-district system but without being threatened by a lawsuit.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Love & Hope & Magic: The Making of Jinx, the Musical,” is a documentary chronicling … Read morePremiere of Love & Hope & Magic: The Making of Jinx, The Musical
San Francisco Symphony players get together in an intimate setting of the Gradus Ad Parnassu… Read moreSoirée Française: Our Favorite Violin Sonatas
Planning your dream wedding? Discover everything you need at the Wedding Fair in the Park – … Read moreWedding Fair in the Park
“Side-splittingly funny and brilliantly chaotic” Read moreThe Play That Goes Wrong
guestd1f05c09006f503bea99796c said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Connie Weiss said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(2) comments
and how much is this crook/extortionist
going to pocket in this scam?
This is a terrible result, which will strip Redwood Shores of any effective response from city leaders. Redwood Shores needs strong representation on any committee considering districts, and I volunteer to be on it!
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.