Quick Take
As Capitola continues its switch to district-based elections, the city council approved the creation of four districts plus an elected mayor with a two-year term. The first districting maps are expected to be publicly shared by June 17.
Under its new district-based election system, Capitola will have four districts and an elected mayor with a two-year term, which city officials say will give voters a voice in each election.
“I’m not saying that this is perfect for Capitola,” Mayor Margaux Morgan said during Thursday evening’s city council meeting. “But I just want us to look at the positives of this issue again: more voting options.”
The decision to move to district-based elections comes as a California law firm threatened to sue the city, alleging that Capitola’s current at-large election system disenfranchises minority communities by diluting the power of Latino voters. Lawyers with Malibu-based Shenkman & Hughes also claimed the current voting system violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001.
The firm sent a letter recommending that city officials voluntarily begin the process of moving to district-based elections by a May 5 deadline or face a lawsuit.
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 make up about 26.5% of Capitola’s nearly 10,000 residents, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.
Under the current at-large system, candidates for the five-member city council are able to run for any open seat. All voters in the city elect who represents those seats.
In district-based elections, city councilmembers represent a specific neighborhood, in which they also must live. Voters can 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.
Now that the city council has decided on four districts and an elected mayor, consultants from National Demographics Corporation are able to draft districting maps. The first drafts are expected to be published for public feedback by June 17, according to city clerk Julia Gautho.
Residents are still encouraged to submit questions, comments or even draft their own maps that could be considered by the demographers via the city website.
Councilmember Susan Westman said she preferred having four districts over five because the neighborhoods would be bigger. With four districts, each district would have nearly 2,487 residents, as opposed to 1,990 residents in a five-district system, according to demographer Doug Johnson.
She added that having an elected mayor with a two-year term will give voters an opportunity every two years to vote on “that critical position.”
Some of the community members who spoke at Thursday’s council meeting said they preferred having an elected mayor and four districts because it provides consistency in city leadership and allows residents to vote in every election, regardless if their district is having an election.
Other residents, such as Mark Orshaw, continue to show their frustration with the letter from Shenkman & Hughes, and the city’s decision to switch to district-based elections.
“A law firm from Malibu that has never walked our region, never attended a community, never knocked on a single door, has inserted itself into our democracy,” he said. Orshaw said the city council’s decision has been driven by fear of a lawsuit.
The changes will have no impact on the upcoming November election. The district system would take effect in 2028, where three city council seats are up for election.
The city will hold an online outreach meeting on June 20, three days after maps are shared with the community. The next public hearing will be on June 25. City officials anticipate approving a map by the end of August.
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