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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 Elections Code Section 10010.
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WHEREAS, members of the City Council of the City of South San Francisco ("City") are currently elected in "at-large" elections, in which each City Councilmember is elected by the registered voters of the entire City; and
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 34886, in certain circumstances, authorizes the legislative body of a city of any population to adopt an ordinance to change its method of election from an "at-large" system to a by-district election system in which each councilmember is elected only by the voters in the district in which the candidate resides; and
WHEREAS, the City received a certified letter on March 6, 2018, from Kevin Shenkman of the law firm of Shenkman & Hughes alleging that the City's at-large councilmember electoral system violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) and threatening litigation if the City declines to voluntarily change to a district-based election system for electing councilmembers; and
WHEREAS, a violation of the CVRA is established if it is shown that racially polarized voting occurs in elections (Elections Code Section 14028(a)). "Racially polarized voting" means voting in which there is a difference in the choice of candidates or other electoral choices that are preferred by voters in a protected class, and in the choice of candidates and electoral choices that are preferred by voters in the rest of the electorate (Elections Code Section 14026(e)); and
WHEREAS, although the letter was not accompanied by any evidence to support the claim of a CVRA violation, in order to avoid costs associated with defending a lawsuit based on the CVRA, even if that lawsuit settles, the City Council has directed staff to initiate the process to transition to district-based elections; and
WHEREAS, ...
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