10B Action - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

City of San Leandro City Council Meeting Date: June 16, 2025 Agenda Number: 10.b. Agenda Section: ACTION ITEMS File Number: 25-285 File Type: Staff Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On November 21, 2024, the City received a notice of potential CVRA violation from Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian, & Ho ("GBDH") on behalf of their client and claimant. The notice letter is included as Attachment A. On January 6, 2025, the City Council adopted a resolution declaring its intent to transition to district-based elections pursuant to the California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”), included as Attachment B. On April 7, 2025, the City Council entered into a written agreement with the claimant to complete all requisite public hearings by July 5, 2025. All four scheduled public hearings have been held, with the final public hearing conducted on June 2, 2025. The City’s draft map reflects the existing district map and City Council directed staff to prepare an ordinance to transition the City’s existing at-large election system to by-district or “district-based” elections pursuant to Government Code section 34871. This hearing is the final public hearing for the matter, whereby the City Council is set to vote on the ordinance, which would initiate the ballot measure process for establishing district-based elections as well as adopt the City’s existing election map to affirm the boundaries of each council district. RECOMMENDATION Hold a final hearing regarding the composition of voting districts to be established for the district-based election of Councilmembers beginning in 2026 and adopt an ordinance to establish district-based elections of Councilmembers and a final district map in accordance with the California Voting Rights Act. BACKGROUND On November 21, 2024, the City received a letter from GBDH on behalf of claimant, Robert Bulatao. The letter alleged the City was violating the CVRA because its current at-large election system led to racially polarized voting that diminished the electoral power of the City’s Asian electorate. The letter concluded that the City must move to district-based elections to resolve the issue. The November 21, 2024, letter triggered a 45-day period during which Mr. Bulatao was prohibited from filing a CVRA suit. After careful consideration of the potential costs and risks arising from CVRA-related litigation, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 25-003 noticing the City’s intent to move to district-based elections for the 2026 election on January 6, 2025. The resolution proposed a timeline for the City to conduct public hearings that are required by the CVRA. The adoption of the Page 1 City of San Leandro Printed on 9/4/2025