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09/24/2018 RESOLUTION NO. 15704 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDWOOD CITY DECLARING ITS INTENT TO TRANSITION FROM AT -LARGE TO BY -DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER ELECTIONS UNDER ELECTIONS CODE § 10010 WHEREAS, under the City Charter of the City of Redwood City (the "City") members of the City Council are currently elected in "at -large" elections, in which each City Councilmember is elected by the registered voters of the entire City; and WHEREAS, August 8, 2018, the City received a certified letter from Kevin Shenkman of the law firm of Shenkman & Hughes on behalf of his client Southwest Voter Registration Education Project asserting that the City's at -large council member electoral system violates the California Voting Rights Act ("CVRA") and threatening litigation if the City declines to voluntarily change to a district -based election system for electing council members; and WHEREAS, a violation of the CVRA is established if it is shown that racially polarized voting occurs in elections (Elections Code section 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 section 14026(e)); and WHEREAS, although Mr. Shenkman's letter was not accompanied by evidence of the existence of racially polarized voting or evidence supporting the claim of a CVRA violation, the City Council has directed staff to initiate the process to establish by -district elections to avoid costs associated with defending a lawsuit based on the CVRA; and WHEREAS, the California Legislature has provided a procedure whereby a jurisdiction can expeditiously change to a by -district election system and avoid the high cost of litigation under the CVRA (Elections Code section 10010). Under that procedure, a jurisdiction can limit the amount of its liability to prospective plaintiffs and their attorneys to a maximum amount of $30,000 for reimbursable expenses and costs (the "safe harbor provision"); and WHEREAS, the City denies its at -large election system violates the CVRA or any other provision of law; and WHEREAS, despite the foregoing, the City Council has determined that the public interest would be served by transitioning to a district -based electoral system because of: (1) the high cost to defend against a CVRA lawsuit, (2) the risk of losing such a lawsuit, which would require the City to pay the prevailing plaintiffs' attorneys' fees, and (3) the availability of changing to district elections under the safe harbor provision; and Page 1 of 5 ATTY/RESO.0090/CC RESO DISTRICT ELECTIONS RESO. NO. 15704 REV: 09-20-18 VR MUFF NO. 307