Title
Report regarding a resolution of the City Council of the City of South San Francisco declaring its intent to transition from at-large elections to district-based councilmember elections pursuant to California Elections Code Section 10010. (Jason Rosenberg, City Attorney)
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RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution of intent declaring its intent to transition from at-large elections to district-based councilmember elections, outlining specific steps to be undertaken to facilitate the transition, and estimating a time frame of action, pursuant to California Elections Code Section 10010.
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BACKGROUND
On March 6, 2018, the City of South San Francisco (the "City") received a certified demand letter, included as Attachment 1, from Shenkman & Hughes, PC dated February 28, 2018 ("demand letter") alleging a violation of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) and demanding that the City move away from an at-large election system. The demand letter claims that the City's current at-large election system dilutes the ability of Latino voters to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of City Council elections.
The City's current at-large election system allows voters from the entire City to choose each of the five Councilmembers. In a district-based election system, a city would be divided into separate districts where one councilmember resides in each district. There are two kinds of district-based elections: in "from district" elections each district councilmember is elected by voters from the entire City, and in "by district" elections each district councilmember is elected by only the voters who reside in the same district where the candidate lives.
DISCUSSION
The California Voting Rights Act
In 2002, the CVRA was signed into law and took effect in 2003. The CVRA prohibits at-large election systems from impairing the ability of a protected class (e.g. members of a race, colo...
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