Under a district-based election system, the City would be divided into five equally populated districts. Each City Councilmember must live in a different district, and that person can only be elected by voters living in that district.
Currently, the City Council consists of five Councilmembers who are elected at-large. This means any eligible voter who lives in the City can run for office, and every voter may vote for all five of the City Councilmember seats, regardless of where they live in the City. Once elected, the five City Councilmembers pick one Councilmember to serve as Mayor for one year, after which the City Council picks a different Councilmember to serve as Mayor for another one-year term. Councilmembers serve four-year terms of office.
Districting determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together into a district for purposes of electing a Councilmember. The City Council will seek input in selecting the first district-based election map. You have an opportunity to share with the City Council how you think district boundaries should be drawn to best represent your community either during the public hearings or by submitting comments to districtelections@toaks.org.
- Federal Laws
- Equal Population (based on total population of residents as determined by the most recent Federal decennial Census and adjusted by the State to reassign incarcerated persons to the last known place of residence)
- Federal Voting Rights Act
- No Racial Gerrymandering
- California Criteria for Cities (to the extent practicable and in the following order of priority)
- Geographically contiguous (areas that meet only at the points of adjoining corners are not contiguous. Areas that are separated by water and not connected by a bridge, tunnel, or ferry service are not contiguous.
- Undivided neighborhoods and “communities of interest” (Socio-economic geographic areas that should be kept together for purposes of its effective and fair representation)
- Easily identifiable boundaries
- Compact (Do not bypass one group of people to get to a more distant group of people)
- Prohibited: “Shall not favor or discriminate against a political party.”
- Other Traditional Districting Principles
- Respect voters’ choices / continuity in office
- Future population growth
A community of interest is a “contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation.”
Below are useful excerpts from the Local Government Redistricting Toolkit by Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus (2020)
Communities of interest are the overlapping sets of neighborhoods, networks, and groups that share interests, views, cultures, histories, languages, and values and whose boundaries can be identified on a map.
The following elements help define communities of interest:
- shared interests in schools, housing, community safety, transit, health conditions, land use, environmental conditions, and/or other issues;
- common social and civic networks, including churches, mosques, temples, homeowner associations, and community centers, and shared use of community spaces, like parks and shopping centers;
- racial and ethnic compositions, cultural identities, and households that predominantly speak a language other than English;
- similar socio-economic status, including but not limited to income, home-ownership, and education levels;
- shared political boundary lines from other jurisdictions, such as school districts, community college districts, and water districts.
Share your specific thoughts, draw a map, or attend an upcoming workshop to get involved!
- Submit written testimony about your community, the districting process, or a specific map to districtelections@toaks.org.
- Click here to see the calendar of workshops and public hearings at which you can speak about the process or a specific map.
At the hearings and workshops, we encourage members of the public to share one or more of the following items:
- Define your neighborhood or community of interest
- Explain why you believe districting is relevant to your community
- Get the tools you need to draw a map of one district or of all 5 districts
- Share your opinions of the draft maps
- Talk to your neighbors and local organizations
- Ask questions or provide general comments about the districting process
These are standard categories included in the Census. Not all of the categories are relevant for creating district maps. Acronyms include:
- NH: Non-Hispanic
- VAP: Voting age population
- CVAP: Citizen Voting Age Population
- CVRA: California Voting Rights Act
- FAIR MAPS Act: Fair And Inclusive Redistricting for Municipalities and Political Subdivisions
- NDC: National Demographics Corporation (the firm hired to produce the maps and provide demographic data)
No, you do not need to submit a fully completed map. You can draw boundaries for only your neighborhood or only a portion of the city. It is helpful if you submit written commentary with your map describing why the particular neighborhood or area should be kept together in a single district.
Yes, you may submit more than one map. Please draw as many maps as you like. We suggest you submit only your top 2-3 preferred maps to assist the City Council in focusing on the map that best represents your community; however, there is no limit.
After you submit your map to districtelections@toaks.org, the demographic consultants will generate the population and other demographic details for your proposed map. Maps will be posted on the City’s website and can be viewed on the Interactive Review Map. Once submitted, maps are considered public records.
Online publications and guides to districting/redistricting: