A reluctant Santa Maria City Council launched the process to convert its elections from an at-large to a district-based system during an emotional meeting Tuesday night.
At the recommendation of city staff following the threat of a lawsuit, the council voted 3-2 to start the process. Mayor Alice Patino and Councilwoman Etta Waterfield voted against the motion.
Currently, the four council members and mayor are elected by voters from throughout Santa Barbara County’s largest city.
However, the district system — implemented in Santa Barbara a few years ago— would see members elected to represent specific yet-to-be-created districts in a push supporters say will lead to better representation of the entire community.
“I’m a little concerned that this could turn into one of those things, be careful what you ask for,” Councilman Mike Cordero said, adding he is worried district-based elections will keep top candidates from running for a seat if they don’t live in the right neighborhood.
But with staff saying a lawsuit could cost the city up to $2 million, Cordero said he had to support the switch.
“I don’t know of any other way to do it than to support the districts,” Cordero said, adding he was cautious about the change.
After weighing the arguments, Councilman Michael Moats said he decided to back the move to district-based elections.
“I do agree with the argument that this could be a very expensive and long and protracted exercise that would take our focus off of those specific functions that the City Council needs to be focusing on, and that is the business of running the city of Santa Maria,” Councilman Jack Boysen said.
The push stems from the threat of a lawsuit by former council candidate Hector Sanchez via a letter sent by his Santa Barbara-based attorney Jason Dominguez, who was elected to the Santa Barbara City Council in that city’s first district election.
They contended the at-large system violates the California Voting Rights Act.
“This is something that is very difficult for us,” Patino said, questioning how the city will be divided into districts if some areas have a large number of residents, but a small number of registered voters.
“It’s not going play out equal. How anyone thinks that’s equality and how anyone thinks that’s a democracy I don’t understand,” Patino said.
“This is something that is forced upon us,” Waterfield said. “I really don’t think any one of us want to do this because the city of Santa Maria has had great men and women before us who have gone and made this city fiscally responsible.”
She noted the city has had Latino mayors, council members and Fifth District county supervisor.
“People said it’s not a Latino problem, it’s the right Latino,” Waterfield said. “And that’s really upsetting because, I guess I’m just going to say it, this has got to be the most prejudiced meeting I have ever been in.
“It doesn’t matter what the color of your skin is, people,” she added. “It’s representing and doing what’s right for the entire city of Santa Maria, for the entire 105,000 people who live in the city of Santa Maria.”
Before the council vote, more than a dozen speakers urged the council to vote for changing its system.
“We don’t care if you’re Latino or not, we care if you represent us,” longtime resident and activist Mary Jacka said. “We don’t feel we have people up there who represent us. … We want to have a voice.”
Sanchez, called “a poor loser” by one person in support of the at-large system, said he wanted to acknowledge the huge decision before the council “because it will make a difference in Santa Maria.”
“I also want to acknowledge that it’s not a financial decision like this gentleman said earlier,” Sanchez said, echoing an earlier speaker. “The context is really about making a better democratic Santa Maria. … I look forward to your decision because frankly I don’t want to sue you. …”
Emotions spilled over when an audience member shouted out from her seat while Andy Caldwell, from the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business, spoke. Among the speakers, he was the only opponent to the district-based elections.
The mayor asked the woman to leave, along with another who objected to Caldwell’s comments.
Several other audience members followed them out the door.
“I’m sorry to see something like this become so divisive to the city, because that’s exactly what it’s doing on each and every one of us,” Patino said later.
Caldwell said Santa Maria’s voting history to put Latino candidates into office has proven the system is not broken.
“This isn’t about the fact that we have elected successfully Latinos to the City Council …,” Caldwell said, adding that one Latino activist claimed Abel Maldonado did not represent Mexicans because he is Republican
“This is about hardball partisan politics and nothing less,” Caldwell said.
With the council’s vote, the first public hearing will occur during the next council meeting March 7 when a demographer is expected to make a presentation. The second hearing is planned for the March 21 meeting.
City staff expects the process to be competed by June, one year before the filing period for the 2018 election when two City Council seats are up for grabs.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.