The next time Morgan Hill residents vote in a municipal election, they will only select a single choice for city council among candidates who reside within the newly established voting district where they live.
As of Sept. 6, there are now four city council districts in Morgan Hill—equal in population—each to be represented by a single councilmember who lives inside that district. At the Sept. 6 meeting—after a series of public meetings and workshops and perusing more than a dozen draft maps created by a professional demographer and Morgan Hill citizens—the council approved a four-district map that will apply until the 2020 U.S. Census.
This is a stark change from the way local voters have elected council members since the city was incorporated in 1906. Until now, councilmembers have always served the city on an at-large basis, and voters have typically voted for two councilmembers in each regular election (roughly every two years).
Earlier this summer, the council begrudgingly approved the new by-district election system in response to a demand letter threatening a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act.
Although councilmembers dislike the new system, they approved a district map that considers traditional specific neighborhood interests and protects the voting rights of all minority groups.
“We tried to keep communities of interest and neighborhoods together. It’s not perfect, and it’s going to be really hard now to get good qualified candidates to run for city council,” Mayor Pro Tem Larry Carr said.
The map approved by the council keeps current councilmembers (not including the mayor) in separate districts. Demographer Doug Johnson, who the city hired to help guide the council and the public through the districting process, said this is a common practice among agencies required to draw new districts because it respects the electorate’s desire to be able to choose the incumbents.
The by-district system will start with the November 2018 election, when the seats occupied by Councilmembers Rich Constantine and Caitlin Jachimowicz will be on the ballot.
Constantine’s district, labeled “District B” on the map, cuts a swath down the middle of Morgan Hill from the northern to the southern city limits. Jachimowicz’ district, known as “District D,” occupies the eastern side of Morgan Hill.
The seats occupied by Councilmembers Larry Carr and Rene Spring will be elected within the new districts starting with the November 2020 election.
“District A,” where Carr resides, goes from a corner of downtown Morgan Hill southwest past West Middle Avenue. “District C,” where Spring lives, occupies northwest Morgan Hill.
The mayor’s seat will continue to be elected at large under the new system.
Three of the districts contain at least a small geographic portion of downtown Morgan Hill, a neighborhood where councilmembers say many different interests for residents from all over the city coincide.
In May, the council received a demand letter from Oakland law firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho, alleging that the city’s traditional at-large system violates the CVRA because it limits the influence of minority groups.
The firm was hired by local Latino residents Armando Benavides, Sally Casas and Brenda Cayme. Benavides has previously run for Morgan Hill City Council and the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees. In 2012, he was also involved in the effort to force MHUSD to switch from an at-large to a by-district system.
Cayme has previously run for MHUSD trustee as well.
By approving the change, the council aimed to protect the city from a potentially costly civil rights lawsuit. But it also forced the city to fast track the process of notifying the public and creating four new districts equal in population, without gerrymandering.
Residents were encouraged to use online mapmaking tools provided by Johnson’s company, National Demographics Corporation, to draw districts for the council’s consideration. Six residents submitted such maps. The map ultimately approved by the council was proposed by NDC.
“I continue to be disappointed that a couple of disgruntled people who have not been able to win an election in Morgan Hill have forced this on us,” Carr added. “I don’t think district elections will improve representation for anyone in Morgan Hill, and it will bring some unintended consequences we will have to work through.”
I continue to be disappointed that a couple of disgruntled people who have not been able to win an election in Morgan Hill have forced this on us.
