HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/19/2024 Item 7a, Cross
Brett Cross <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:7.a CONSIDER RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE PRE-LITIGATION SETTLEMENT OF
CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT DISTRICT ELECTION DEMAND
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Dear Council members,
This is quite a surprise. And not a good one. The issue of coming up with a voting system to try and provide some sort of
system that would give "voice" to underserved or minority residents in the City is an interesting topic. Probably could be
debated for a long time with no definitive solution. Ranked choice is interesting. I personally think District Elections are
better, more on that later
Which brings me to this "solution" which has never been discussed outside of your closed session discussions. That in
itself is a bit problematic when we as a community should have been at least been informed as negotiations took place.
The issue as regards to voting and representation began as a push to district elections (of which I support)., but now have
evolved/devolved into a one vote only concept for two city council seats.
I don't know how that helps. Is there some evidence that would help with whatever one wants to describe the problem
perceived or actual with representation with the underserved (whatever that might mean) or minority residents- who given
the recent Presidential elections are certainly not monolithic groups.
The question is really representation. And how best to create a system that provides the best representation possible. It's
not going to be perfect. Is the current system best or are other methods better? I certainly think district elections would be
a better then is used now. The community has grown. The good ole days of being able to walk all the precincts like
Andrew Carter are gone. The town is too big. It now takes more than just a handful of folks to help out a candidate to go
out and hand out literature, which means you need to have a bunch of cash to go out and buy media advertising.
You want to get more people involved, including the underserved and minorities in the community- Make it easier to run
for election. District elections make that possible. I could easily walk a district out where I live that would include the
Laguna Lake area and portions of South Higuera. I could easily have a flyers/brochures made up for not a lot of money
and yard signs. You could run an effective campaign for a few thousand dollars It makes it possible to actually set up a
"card table" at a grocery store, on the corner of a neighborhood, or at park.
Then there's a question about representation. No matter how familiar you believe you are about the city as whole, you
cannot deny you're most familiar with area you live in and the nearby area. You just have a better understanding. And I
get it that all of you are more than willing to listen to residents from other parts of the city but honestly if you're not living
everyday it's hard to really grasp what is actually going on daily basis and not only that but you have real equity in the
area. Districts help make the representative more responsible to their constituents that live in their district.
My recommendation is to go to district elections which was the original lawsuit brought by the plaintiff
Sincerely,
Brett Cross
San Luis Obispo
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