AgdaPkt 2018-09-24 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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ANALYSIS Under the City Charter, City Council Members are elected in "at -large" elections, in which each City Council Member is elected by the registered voters of the entire City. In 2003, the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) became law. The CVRA, in an attempt to prevent disenfranchisement of protected classes of voters, establishes a cause of action for "protected class" voters who seek to force cities to convert from at -large to by -district elections if certain conditions are met. Numerous public agencies in California have been sued under the CVRA. Two CVRA cases have been tried to judgment: the City of Palmdale incurred $4.7 million in legal fees in unsuccessfully defending its at -large election system, and the City of Santa Clara recently lost its case but the remedy and legal fees have not yet been determined. A violation of the CVRA is established if it is shown that racially polarized voting occurs in elections (Elections Code § 14028(a)). "Racially polarized voting" means voting in which there is a difference in the choice of candidates or other electoral choices that are preferred by voters in a protected class, and in the choice of candidates and electoral choices that are preferred by voters in the rest of the electorate (Elections Code § 14026(e)). In the Bay Area, numerous jurisdictions have already received such letters and either completed or begun the change to by -district elections. These include the County of San Mateo, the cities of Brentwood, Concord, Fremont, Half Moon Bay, Martinez, Menlo Park, Pacifica, San Rafael, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, and South San Francisco; Redwood City School District, Sequoia Union High School District, and the San Mateo County Harbor District. The letter received from Attorney Kevin Shenkman alleges the City's at -large City Council election system violates the CVRA by diluting the ability of certain protected classes (Latino Citizen Voting Age Population approximately 24%, Asian Citizen Voting Age Population approximately 13%) of persons within the City to elect candidates. The letter was not accompanied by any evidence to support the claim of a CVRA violation, and the City does not concede to Mr. Shenkman's allegations. However, the sending of this letter is a precursor to the filing of a lawsuit as required under the 2016 amendments to the CVRA. This letter triggers a very short timeline for the City to act and implement City Council Districts to avoid the excessive attorneys' fees that cities faced before the 2016 amendments. If the City adopts a resolution of intention to change to a by -district system of elections within 45 days after the receipt of the letter and completes the transition process within 90 days after the adoption of that initial resolution, the attorneys' fees a prospective plaintiff may recover are capped at $30,000, and the City cannot be sued under the CVRA.