DATE: May 28, 2024
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Attorney
SUBJECT: Public Hearing No.2 to Receive Input from the Community on City Council Districts to be Established for District-Based Elections Beginning in 2026.
RECOMMENDATION
That the Council conduct the public hearing, receive a presentation from the demographer, and receive input from the community regarding composition of City Council districts to be established for district-based elections beginning with the 2026 election cycle.
SUMMARY
On April 16, 2024 the City Council adopted a resolution declaring its intent to begin the process of transitioning from at-large elections to district-based elections beginning with the 2026 election cycle. The election of the mayor will continue to be conducted at-large. The transition process begins with two public hearings required by Elections Code section 10010. During these hearings, the City Council receives input from the community regarding the composition of the proposed districts. The first public hearing was held on May 14, 2024. Subsequent public hearings involving review and discussion of draft district maps are also required to be held. Those hearings will be scheduled at a later time but are anticipated to take place in August and September. This transition process does not impact the upcoming 2024 election.
BACKGROUND
The City of Hayward currently utilizes an at-large election system for the Mayor and City Councilmembers. This means that the electors from the entire City choose the Mayor and six (6) City Councilmembers. A district-based election system is one in which the city is geographically divided into separate districts, each with one Councilmember who resides in the district and is chosen by the electors residing in that particular district.
On March 10, 2024, the City received a letter from attorney Scott Rafferty saying that the City’s at-large method of election could be in violation of the California Voting Rights Act (the “CVRA”). The CVRA allows a city to declare its intent to change to district-based elections and gives it 90 days within which to adopt districts. At the time it adopted its resolution of intent, the City’s deadline for adoption of districts was July 15, 2024. However, state law also allows the parties to a CVRA complaint to extend the deadline by another 90 days, and on May 15, 2024, the parties agreed that the City would have until October 14, 2024 to adopt districts for use in the 2026 elections.
DISCUSSION
Public Hearing Timeline
Pursuant to Elections Code section 10010, the City must hold at least four public hearings in connection with the establishment of electoral districts. The City is required to hold at least two public hearings over a period of no more than 30 days before any map or maps of the boundaries for the proposed voting districts are drawn. The first two public hearings will give the community an opportunity to provide input to the City Council regarding the composition of the districts before any maps are drawn.
The first public hearing to receive input regarding composition of the proposed districts occurred on May 14, 2024. A copy of the staff report, as well as video and audio recording of the hearing is available for the public through the following link: HYPERLINK "http://www.hayward-ca.gov/district-based-elections-ph1"http://www.hayward-ca.gov/district-based-elections-ph1.
This public hearing will be a second opportunity for the City Council to hear from the public regarding communities of interest and other factors that the City Council must take into account in drawing district lines.
Following these initial hearings, staff recommended that the City use part of its additional 90 days to conduct outreach and educate members of the public about how they can be involved in the districting process. Staff recommends that a third public hearing be held sometime in August to allow the City Council to receive additional public input and give the demographer sufficient guidance to draw one or more draft maps. The draft map or maps must be published at least seven days in advance of the next public hearing, and the City must hold at least two more public hearings before adopting a map prior to the October 14, 2024 deadline.
The plan will be incorporated into a recommended ordinance that may be presented to the City Council during Public Hearing #4 or #5. Public Hearings #3 and #4 are anticipated to take place in late August/early September 2024.
Districting Criteria
In creating the boundaries of the six districts, the process must comply with state and federally mandated criteria that require each district to be as nearly equal in population as practicable and drawn in a manner that complies with the 14th Amendment, the State and Federal Voting Rights Act, as well as the criteria outlined in Elections Code section 21130.
Community Outreach
Community outreach has commenced under the facilitation of City staff and outreach consultant Tripepi Smith. To facilitate the sharing of information and gathering of input and feedback on the drawing of district-election maps, the City has established a website at HYPERLINK "http://www.maphayward.org/" \t "_blank"www.maphayward.org. Community members can also ask questions and provide input and feedback by calling (510) 583-4444 or by sending an email to HYPERLINK "mailto:[email protected]" \t "_blank"[email protected].
Additionally, the City’s social media outlets will be updated weekly, flyers and a city-wide mailer promoting the public hearings will be distributed to the community, and direct email and phone call outreach to community groups and organizations will be performed. Also, interpreters in Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese and Tagalog will be available at all public hearings upon request.
FISCAL IMPACT
Significant staff resources will be devoted to carrying out the process described in this report, including public outreach strategies. The City will also incur costs related to the engagement of outside legal counsel, a demographer and other consultants that may be necessary.
Prepared by: Michael Vigilia, Senior Assistant City Attorney Recommended by: Michael Lawson, City Attorney
Approved by:
Dustin Claussen, Interim City Manager
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