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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 16 - District Elections RESOLUTION OF INTENT TO TRANSITION TO DISTRICT ELECTIONS BACKGROUND Tustin utilizes an at-large election system to elect its City Council members. "At-Large" means that all of the Council members are elected by all voters City-wide. Another way to elect City Council members would be by districts. District elections would divide the City into several regions with roughly equal numbers of residents in each district. Only the voters who live in each district would vote for the Council member from that District. BACKGROUND On June 23, 2020, the City received a letter from the Mexican- American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) MALDEF asserts that the City's at-large election system violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) and threatens litigation if the City declines to convert to district-based elections. BACKGROUND Any voter who resides in a city and is a member of a protected class may file a lawsuit for a violation of the CVRA. To succeed, the plaintiff must show that, as a result of an at-large election, "racially polarized voting" has occurred. "Racially polarized voting" means there is a difference between the choice of candidates preferred by voters in a protected class and candidates preferred by voters in the remainder of the voting population. Cities throughout the State have increasingly faced legal challenges to their at-large election systems. BACKGROUND If a plaintiff prevails in litigation, the CVRA allows for the recovery of attorneys' fees and expert witness fees, which can be very high. On the other hand, even if the city that is sued prevails in the lawsuit, the city cannot recover either attorneys' fees or costs unless the case can be shown to be frivolous, which is very difficult to show. BACKGROUND Nearly all the agencies that have fought such CVRA claims have settled those claims out of court by agreeing to transition to district-based elections. Those cities that have attempted to defend their existing at-large election systems have incurred significant legal costs. EXAMPLES OF SOME OF THE SIGNIFICANT CVRA LITIGATION SETTLEMENT COSTS Palmdale: $4.7 million Whittier: $ 1 million Modesto: $3 million Santa Barbara: $600,000 Highland: $ 1 .3 million Tulare Hospital: $500,000 Anaheim: $ 1 . 1 million Camarillo: $233,000 Compton Unified: $200,000 * The City of Santa Monica is involved in an on-going CVRA lawsuit in which the Santa Monica has already spent an estimated $8 million so far, and the plaintiffs have requested $22 million in attorney and expert fees and litigation costs in connection with their win in the trial court. CVRA SAFE HARBOR The CVRA contains a very narrow "safe harbor" for those cities that receive demand letters like the one from MALDEF. In Tustin's case, MALDEF is not allowed to file a lawsuit until after August 14th If, by August 14th, the City Council adopts a Resolution outlining its intention to transition from at-large to district- based elections, then no lawsuit could be filed within 90 more days after the Resolution is approved. CVRA SAFE HARBOR The 90-day period to adopt an ordinance establishing district-based elections may be extended by an additional 90 days if MALDEF agrees to the extension. And if the City Council approves an ordinance establishing district-based elections within that 90- or 180-day period, then the City's liability for reimbursement of MALDEF's costs incurred would be limited $30,000 (adjusted for CPI). THE PROPOSED RESOLUTION Resolution 21 -64 attached to the Staff Report is the Resolution that would declare the Council's intent to transition to District elections. The Resolution does not agree that the City violated the CVRA, but it agrees to start the process to transition to district elections to avoid the likely high costs of litigating the issues. If the Resolution is passed, the City would begin the process of public outreach and public hearings and ultimately consider adoption of district maps. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS Exhibit to the proposed Resolution sets forth a tentative timeline for the public process of considering district elections and district maps. Steps include: Public outreach and education starting in August A first public hearing regarding the composition of districts May include identifying whether to transition to five (5) districts or to four (4) districts and aCity-wide Mayor. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS Public process steps include: A second public hearing no more than 30 days after the first one Posting of draft maps and the potential sequence of elections A third public hearing to consider the composition of the districts and draft maps Posting of any amended maps/sequence of elections A fourth public hearing to select the final map and to introduce the ordinance establishing district elections, election boundaries, and election sequence PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS Finally, on or before the 90th day (or the 1801" day, if MALDEF agrees to extend the deadline) the City Council could adopt the final ordinance. If approved, the ordinance establishing district elections would take effect 30 days later. If the schedule set forth in the Resolution is followed, the first district elections would occur at the November 2022 election. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT PROCESS The Resolution outlines the Council's INTENT to transition to district-based elections. It does not bind the City to complete the transition to District elections. However, if the City does not complete the transition within the required timeframe, MALDEF would be allowed to file a CVRA lawsuit against the City. SIDE NOTE ON " RANKED CHOICE VOTING " Some interest has been expressed by members of the public in adopting a "ranked choice voting" process in Tustin. Separate issue from District Elections (not directly related) The State Legislature considered authorizing general law cities like Tustin to adopt ranked choice voting in 2019 (SB 212). However, the Governor vetoed that bill. So ranked choice voting is not an option for Tustin, unless State law changes or Tustin undertakes to convert to a "charter law" city. RECOMMENDED ACTIONS Adopt Resolution 21 -64, entitled "A Resolution Of City Council Of The City Of Tustin, California, Declaring Its Intention To Transition From At-large To District-based Elections Pursuant To California Elections Code 10010(e)(3)(a)"; and Authorize the City Manager to approve and execute an agreement with MALDEF to extend by an additional 90 days the deadline to adopt an ordinance establishing district-based elections in a form to be approved by the City Attorney. QUESTIONS ?