Report Prepared by: Kenneth Rozell, Senior Deputy City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office
Title
SUBJECT: Consideration of City Council District Maps Recommended by the Independent Districting Advisory Commission and Determination When Council Members Will Be Elected from New Districts
REPORT IN BRIEF
Review City Council district map recommendations submitted by the Independent Districting Advisory Commission. Through the adoption of an ordinance, the City Council will make its selection of one map for the area of the City north of the Burlington/Santa Fe railroad tracks (three City Council districts) and one map for the area of the City south of these railroad tracks (three City Council districts). In addition, through the adoption of this ordinance, the City Council will determine which three of the new City Council districts will be up for election in 2016 and which three will be up for election in 2018.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council - Adopt a motion introducing Ordinance 2449, an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Merced, California, Adding Chapter 1.17 Entitled “City Council Districts” to the Merced Municipal Code.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Approve modified City Council districts, subject to making one or more findings that the modifications are necessary to ensure full compliance with the California Voting Rights Act or the federal Voting Rights Act and related court decisions.
AUTHORITY
Merced City Charter, Sections 400 and 1000
California Election Code Section 21620
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Adopting a District Election Map and Ordinance is listed as one of Council’s administrative priorities.
DISCUSSION
Background
On November 4, 2014, Merced voters approved an amendment to Section 400 of the City's Charter (Measure T) that changed the way in which members of the City Council will be elected - from an at-large election of Council Members to an election of Council Members by district. Starting in November 2016, three Council Members will be elected from districts by voters residing in those districts. In November 2018, voters in the other three Council Districts will elect representatives to the City Council.
The City Council originally placed Measure T on the ballot as a result of allegations made in April 2014 by the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (“MALDEF”) that the City’s at-large method of electing members of the City Council violated the California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”). MALDEF indicated it was ready and willing to file suit against the City for violation of the CVRA unless there was an acceptable resolution of the matter.
The City denied MALDEF’s allegations, and maintained that its elections have been held in full compliance will all state and federal laws. The City Council, however, directed staff to negotiate a resolution on the matter. On July 7, 2014, the City and MALDEF agreed to a settlement which was executed by the three plaintiffs in the case.
Terms of the settlement included placing a measure on the ballot to change the at-large method of electing Council Members to election by districts and - if the measure passed - the creation of an independent advisory committee on districts to recommend district boundary maps to the City Council.
Committee Formation
Measure T passed in November 2014. From December 22, 2014 to February 3, 2015, the City accepted applications from individuals interested in sitting on the Independent Districting Advisory Committee (the “Committee”). The City received a total of 39 applications, which were then turned over to the Merced County League of Women Voters (“League”) for its consideration. After conducting a thorough review of the applications, the League recommended seven candidates who were subsequently appointed by the City Council:
See Lee
Miguel Lopez
Theresa McIntire
Carl Pollard
Kelly Roseman
Shane Smith
Maria Vega
Unfortunately, Carl Pollard resigned his positions due to health reasons in June 2015. The League reconsidered the remaining applicants, and recommended Isabel Sanchez to fill Mr. Pollard’s seat. City Council appointed Isabel Sanchez to the Committee at their meeting of July 20, 2015.
Districting Criteria
The settlement agreement provided mandatory criteria for the Committee to follow when considering proposed district maps. The settlement stated:
“…Furthermore, the maps creating six (6) single-member districts shall ensure that there are three districts that are entirely encompassed in the area south of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Line and three districts that are entirely encompassed in the area north of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Rail Line…”
Also included in the settlement was the consideration of:
“(1) Topography,
(2) Geography,
(3) Cohesiveness, contiguity, integrity and compactness of territory; and,
(4) Community of interest of the districts”
as long as that consideration complied with California Elections Code Section 21620, state and federal voting rights laws, and did not disperse Latinos or other minority voters to constitute an ineffective minority or condense those voters to constitute an excessive majority.
To assist the Committee in undertaking the mapping of City Council districts, the City underwent a competitive procurement for consultant services. After a review of the submissions and interviews, staff recommended the selection of National Demographics, Inc. (“NDC”) to facilitate the process. The City Council approved an agreement with NDC at its November 17, 2014 meeting.
Public Outreach & Engagement
The settlement agreement stated that:
“Merced shall actively engage in a program of advertising and outreach activities reasonably calculated to inform and educate city residents regarding the districting process and the work of the Committee and to encourage participation in the Committee’s public meetings.”
City Clerk staff created several educational materials to help inform citizens on the districting process. This included a project-dedicated section on the City’s website, a districting fact sheet and a frequently asked questions flyer. The fact sheet and FAQ were also translated into both Spanish and Hmong. These flyers were available at Committee meetings and distributed at community events.
In late May 2015, the City Clerk’s Office published an RFP for an Outreach/Engagement Consultant to assist with advertising and outreach activities. In June 2015 a contract was signed with Emily Bernard for her services. Ms. Bernard facilitated presentations for many community groups, including:
• All Dads Matter - June 25, 2015
• NAACP leadership - July 2, 2015
• Mt. Pisgah - July 19, 2015
• Kiwanis - July 20, 2015
• NAACP general meeting - July 20, 2015
• League of Women Voters - July 24, 2015
• Kiwanis - July 29, 2015
• Merced Lions - July 30, 2015
• Healthy South Merced - August 5, 2015
• Kiwanis - August 24, 2015
• Rotary - August 25, 2015
Committee members also conducted outreach at community events, including:
• Sacred Heart Church - July 12, 2015
• Food Distribution Site Tri-College - July 17, 2015
• Art Hop - July 18, 2015
• Golden Valley Health Center Block Party - August 14, 2015
Marketing efforts to engage citizens to participate in the districting process included continuous conversations with reporters about meetings and outreach efforts and options for coverage. Articles were published in the Merced Sun-Star on July 8, 2015; July 19, 2015; August 28, 2015; and September 2, 2015. The Merced County Times published a full-page map for use by citizens to submit their comments on boundary locations. The Merced County Times also published a full page ad with the three focus maps and flyer for final meeting. Districting specific messages on the City of Merced’s Facebook page were published on July 14, 2015; July 17, 2015; July 20, 2015; July 27, 2015; and August 14, 2015.
Committee Meetings
The settlement agreement included a series of required community meetings:
“The Committee shall hold at least two rounds of public meetings. The first round of public meetings shall consist of at least two public community meetings (one each in the northeast and the southwest regions of Merced) to be held before the district maps are drawn….”
“After the Committee has received draft district maps from a demographer, or community members, and before presenting any recommendation to the City Council, the Committee shall hold a second round of two public meetings (one each in the northwest and southeast regions of Merced).”
The Committee held the following organizing and “first round” meetings:
Thursday, March 19, 2015, 6:00 p.m. - City Council Chambers
Thursday, April 9, 2015, 6:00 p.m. - Sam Pipes Room
Thursday, April 16, 2015, 6:00 p.m. - City Council Chambers
Tuesday, May 5, 2015, 6:30 p.m. - Tenaya Middle School
Tuesday, May 19, 2015, 6:30 p.m. - Merced Senior Center
Saturday, May 30, 2015, 2:00 p.m. - Rivera Middle School
At the meetings, Douglas Johnson of NDC provided an overview of the districting process, the criteria, and how members of the public could become involved and submit comments or information to the Committee. Former Assistant City Clerk Miranda Lutzow served as the City staff representative to the Committee throughout the entire process.
Generally, the meetings lasted two to three hours. The number of attendees at these public meetings ranged between approximately six to 30 members of the public.
The Committee also held the following “round two” meetings:
Tuesday, July 7, 2015, 5:30 p.m. - Merced Senior Center
Wednesday, July 22, 2015, 5:30 p.m. - Rivera Middle School
Saturday, August 1, 2015, 2:00 p.m. - Tenaya Middle School
At these meetings, Douglas Johnson of NDC provided an overview of the maps that had been submitted by citizens and discussed the specific details for each submission. The public then had the opportunity to walk around the room and view the large printed maps, vote using color dot stickers, and complete comment forms. These meetings also lasted two to three hours, but had a higher average attendance of approximately 15 to 35 members of the public.
Aside from public comment at meetings, members of the public could also submit comments about the drawing of district boundaries to the Committee by email, mail, or through the City’s website. Comments could also be submitted through the City Clerk’s Office.
The community outreach and meetings resulted in the submission of 21 public maps and three maps created by NDC.
Recommended District Maps
Committee members met again at City Hall on August 4, August 18, and September 1, 2015 to study the maps in detail with the goal of selecting two maps for recommendation to City Council. The final three meetings had a much higher average attendance, ranging from 24 to 67 participants. Committee members listened to public comments, and requested that NDC make changes to the maps in order to keep neighborhoods together and use major arterial streets as the borders wherever possible. At the conclusion of the September 1 meeting, Committee members voted to submit the Belluomini Map (northern portion only), the Palma map (southern portion only) and the NDC ‘C’ map (both northern and southern portions) for consideration by City Council.
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
Merced County Elections Office has estimated their fee to integrate the new districts into their existing systems at approximately $3,000 - $5,000.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Belluomini North Adjusted Map (north of Burlington/Santa Fe railroad tracks)
2. NDC-C North Adjusted Map (north of Burlington/Santa Fe railroad tracks)
3. NDC-C South Adjusted Map (south of Burlington/Santa Fe railroad tracks)
4. Palma South Adjusted Map (south of Burlington/Santa Fe railroad tracks)
5. Draft Ordinance adopting Districts