Ord 2025-009 CVRA District Elections

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IN THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LEANDRO ORDINANCE NO. 2025-009 ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH BY-DISTRICT ELECTIONS OF COUNCILMEMBERS, ADOPTING A MAP DESCRIBING THE BOUNDARIES OF EACH DISTRICT, AND DETERMINING THE SEQUENCE OF DISTRICT ELECTIONS WHEREAS, the City of San Leandro supports full participation of all citizens in electing members of the City Council; and WHEREAS, the City of San Leandro currently elects its six Councilmembers based on Council districts, but through an at-large election system, in which candidates reside in their respective districts in the City and in which, at each election, the candidates that receive the most votes city-wide earns a four-year term on the City Council; and WHEREAS, on November 21, 2024, the City received a letter from the law firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian, & Ho ("GBDH") on behalf of their client and claimant, Robert Bulatao, asserting that the City's at-large election system violates the California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA'"), and threatening litigation if the City does not voluntarily transition to a by-district election system; and WHEREAS, the letter itself was not accompanied by any statistical evidence to support the claim of a CVRA violation that the City’s current election method impairs the ability of the City’s Asian voters to elect candidates of their choice and to influence the outcome of elections; and WHEREAS, the City Council denies that its election system violates the CVRA or any other provision of law, asserts that the City’s election system is legal in all respects, and further denies any wrongdoing whatsoever in connection with the way at-large City Council elections have been conducted; and WHEREAS, despite the lack of substantial evidence, on January 6, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25-003, declaring its intent to initiate the City’s transition from its existing at-large election method to a district-based election method, along with an initial schedule guiding the City’s transition, in compliance with Elections Code Section 10010; and WHEREAS, to timely transition to district-based elections while maintaining the attorneys’ fees cap under the CVRA’s safe harbor provision, the City communicated with claimant’s counsel regarding a written agreement to provide a 90-day extension to sufficiently conduct all necessary public hearings; and WHEREAS, claimant agreed to a 90-day extension on the sole condition that the City vote on an ordinance within the extension period; and WHEREAS, despite the lack of statutory authority mandating the City adopt an ordinance within the safe harbor period as conditioned by claimant, the City agreed to enter into the written agreement in consideration of the totality of the matter, including the policy reasons for moving to election by district, as well as the costs and risks of threatened litigation; and