Quick Take
Under the threat of a lawsuit, the Capitola City Council voted Thursday night to start the process of switching to district-based elections. The complaint from a Southern California law firm charges that the current at-large system disenfranchises minority communities by diluting the power of Capitola’s Latino voters.
The Capitola City Council will begin moving toward district-based elections, thereby avoiding a lawsuit threat from a Southern California law firm.
“We have the overreach of an attorney from somewhere else making us do something that we don’t like,” City Councilmember Joe Clarke said at Thursday evening’s special session. “But, the great thing about Capitola is, everybody’s going to come together and make it the best outcome, and just go through the process.”
The city received a letter from Malibu-based law firm Shenkman & Hughes in March, recommending that it voluntarily begin the process to switch to district-based elections by a May 5 deadline or face a lawsuit.
The basis of the firm’s complaint is that at-large elections disenfranchise minority communities by diluting the power of Capitola’s Latino voters. The lawyers claim the current way Capitola residents elect city councilmembers violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA). The law is meant to give disenfranchised minority communities more voting power in local elections.
Shenkman & Hughes claims Capitola’s at-large system dilutes the ability of Latino residents to elect a candidate of their choosing “or otherwise influence the outcome of the city’s council election.” Latinos currently make up about 26.5% of Capitola’s nearly 10,000 residents, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.
The city will hold at least five public hearings about the move, the first of which is scheduled for May 28, and the fifth on July 23. During the next city council meeting, on May 14, residents can learn more about the districting process and respond to the idea.
The May 28 meeting is likely to determine the number of districts, and whether the mayor position will be an at-large elected role, as in Santa Cruz. The city also hired National Demographics Corporation as the demographer and mapping consultant. The firm previously worked with the City of Santa Cruz and the Pajaro Valley Health Care District.
The district-based elections would not take effect until the November 2028 election.
Under the current at-large system, candidates for city council are able to run for any open seat, representing the community broadly. All voters elect who represents those seats.
In district-based elections, city councilmembers represent a specific neighborhood, in which they also must live. Voters get to vote for only the candidates representing their district. The cities of Santa Cruz and Watsonville use this model to elect city councilmembers. Scotts Valley has at-large elections.
Community members who spoke at Thursday’s meeting were split about the issue. Longtime resident Linda Smith said she’s supportive of the transition to district-based elections, and the city avoiding a lawsuit.
She also asked the five-member city council to consider residency requirements within districts, referencing the departure of former councilmember Alex Pedersen, who abruptly resigned from the city council last spring after a group of community members accused him of not living within the city limits.
Resident Theresa Green told city councilmembers she thinks the process is being rushed.
“It seems we have trouble getting enough people to apply for city council as it is,” Green said. “This may be more difficult with districts. What happens if no candidate applies?”
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