San Mateo shifting away from at-large elections | Native Information

San Mateo has stated its intention to move from the general election to the district election, with the council citing the high cost of potential lawsuits if it does not start the transition.

Councilor Joe Goethals said San Mateo has a diverse community representative, but noted that a lawsuit for violating California’s voting rights law could cost the city millions and result in job losses, a risk he was unwilling to take.

“I think San Mateo in its current form is doing a good job of representing our voters very well, but the way this law is written makes it very difficult for us to take action against this lawsuit,” Goethals said .

The city received a letter on May 24 from attorney Scott Rafferty alleging that the city’s current general electoral system violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). A previous staff report found that the letter may be a precursor to an outside lawsuit alleging CVRA violation. Many cities and authorities sued under the CVR have lost legal challenges and paid litigation costs in the millions.

The cost of a potential litigation has led several council members to pass a resolution on the continuation of the district elections at their June 21 meeting.

Councilor Diane Papan said the council was making a business decision and noted that part of its job is to be a tax advisor.

“I think this decision has to be made in order to pass a resolution because it would be so difficult and expensive to fight something like this,” said Papan.

Mayor Eric Rodriguez said it was sensible course of action to pass the resolution, thinking that now is the best time to talk about elections.

“Our city is incapable of filing millions of dollars in lawsuits,” said Rodriguez.

Cities that have received letters claiming CVRA violations include Half Moon Bay, Menlo Park, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Bruno, Millbrae, and South San Francisco. Educational districts include the Redwood City School District, the San Mateo Union High School District, the Sequoia Union High School District, and the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District.

Under the current system, all voters in San Mateo elect the five councilors. In the district elections, the city would be divided into districts. Residents would be assigned to a district and would select a city council member to represent them. The resolution is now starting a 90-day process to pass an ordinance approving a new district election card.

While the process takes 90 days, a further 90-day extension can be granted under the CVRA “Safe Harbor” process if Rafferty agrees. The city will request an extension from Rafferty. Both sides have previously signaled their willingness to allow more public contributions and to consider demographics from the 2020 census, which will be released later this year.

Rafferty spoke and thought the process could be a positive experience. When asked about an extension, he signaled his readiness if negotiations were to come.

“I am very ready to do so,” said Rafferty.

Deputy Mayor Rick Bonilla wanted to agree an extension between the two sides.

“I am very keen to press Mr. Rafferty for the extension we discussed earlier. We’re going to need this because we have to work with the latest census data we can possibly get, ”said Bonilla.

Councilor Amourence Lee praised the diversity of the council and said it had done a good job representing the entire community. She proposed an ad hoc committee to encourage public participation across all stakeholders. She supported the adoption of the resolution and felt uncomfortable playing potential jobs and city services in a lawsuit.

“I think it would be a stupid concern,” said Lee.

Bonilla agreed to the council to push ahead with the district elections.

“I’m not interested in losing any more money when we’re fighting something that it’s really clear that the chances that we will prevail are not good. So [I’m] not interested in hoping for a miracle, ”said Bonilla.

Goethals noted that San Bruno had a mayor who was elected by the whole city. He presented the idea at the meeting.

“A general mayor might be something we consider to better represent our constituents, which I think is part of the purpose here, and that would also allow any San Mateo resident to vote for at least two of their councilors . “, Said Goethals.

The total cost of the process is approximately $ 150,000 from the general fund. The discussion will continue in the Council meetings on July 6th and August 2nd. If five council members are held in the district election, three districts could vote in the November 2022 election. Two districts could then vote in the November 2024 election, known as election sequencing.