weighs changes to election process
By David Marsh
Visalia
- A demographic expert gave the members of Visalia's Elections Task Force
much to think about Monday as they ponder possible changes in the way
the city elects its council members.
The meeting, held in the Convention Center's Charter Oak Ballroom, was the third in a series for the task force. The group's 13 members were appointed by the City Council to study the issue before making a recommendation to the Council on what, if any, changes the city should make in its current at-large city council electoral system.
Demographer Douglas Johnson's wide-ranging presentation to the group painted a picture of a state in transition as cities and districts up and down the state are making changes to the at-large elections model that, historically, most have used to elect their representatives.
Voting rights advocates have used lawsuits and threats of lawsuits to exact changes in cities and districts large and small, alleging that at-large elections are used to disenfranchise and dilute the voting power of minority voters.
A spate of lawsuits has forced a growing number of Central Valley cities and school and hospital districts to reach expensive out-of-court settlements to settle the claims against them, while agreeing to changes in their own elections process.
The lawsuits, which allege violations of California's Voting Rights Act, have fueled a growing trend among voting districts to abandon the historically widely used at-large elections process.
Visalia has received a letter from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of San Francisco expressing concerns that the city's at-large elections are polarizing the voting power of its growing Hispanic population, currently 46% of the city's residents. The Lawyers' Committee is behind many of the lawsuits spurring changes in Valley cities in recent years.
Many feel that Visalia will face costly litigation if changes are not made soon.
Since Visalia is a Charter City, any changes in the way Council members are elected have to be approved by the city's voters.
At Monday's meeting, Johnson presented the group with detailed information on the city's Hispanic population, including geographical concentrations of Hispanic voters within the city. He also reviewed statistics related to recent city council elections and described election systems used in comparably sized cities throughout the state.
During his hour-long presentation, Johnson also outlined the operational differences of other systems such as election by-district, election 'from' district, a strong-mayor form of government and a hybrid mix of these with some form of the at-large system. Johnson, the president of National Graphics Corporation, addressed as well the costs and impacts associated with each of the methods.
Following Johnson's presentation, questions and concerns voiced by the task force members indicated a possible shifting of their immediate focus, with the group discussing the possibility of bringing the rather complex issues before the community through a series of public forums.
Originally projected to run through January, expectations now are that the election review process could run well into February or beyond.
“People need to be educated and informed, and we need more outreach,” said Mayor Amy Shuklian, a non-voting member of the task force who was present at Monday's meeting. “I think it's going to go a little longer than we anticipated.”
At the next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 9 at 5 p.m. at the Convention Center, the city will present additional demographic information as well as statistics compiled from previous city elections.
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