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8.A. - Page 22 of 48 ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING \ JUSTICE ` ASIAN LAW CAUCUS Mayor Ian Bain Vice Mayor Diane Howard Councilmember Alicia C. Aguirre Councilmember Janet Borgens Councilmember Giselle Hale Councilmember Shelly Masur Councilmember Diana Reddy Redwood City City Council 1017 Middlefield Road Redwood City, CA 94063 April 6, 2019 Via email Re: Agenda Item 8A for April 8, 2019 City Council Meeting Choosing a Draft Map for City Council Elections that Empowers Under -Represented Communities Dear Mayor Bain and Redwood City Councilmembers, I write on behalf of Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Asian Law Caucus, a civil rights organization that works to ensure immigrant communities, limited English speakers, communities of color, and other under- represented groups are able to participate fully and equitably in their local democracy. Our team has years of experience supporting jurisdictions and their voters throughout the transition to district elections to ensure the drawing of district maps that fairly represent the needs and concerns of minority communities. Despite the fact that Latinos make up 39% of Redwood City's population and 24% of the City's citizen voting age population, we believe only two Latinos have served on the Redwood City Council throughout the City's history. These past four months, the City's Latino community has stepped forward and made clear that it has felt excluded from local decision-making and is eager to achieve better representation on the City Council. It is imperative that the Redwood City Council selects a final district map that gives this historically under- represented community a greater voice in November 2020 and beyond. Throughout Redwood City's transition to district elections, we have worked closely with the local advocacy group Latino Focus. Latino Focus and a wide coalition of community groups, including Casa Circulo Cultural, OCA -San Mateo, Redwood Shores residents, Menlo College students, and Peninsula Young Democrats, have demonstrated a strong preference for a district map that empowers the Latino community by drawing two majority -minority Latino districts. We encourage the City Council to honor that community input and prioritize draft maps that include two Latino majority -minority districts rather than one. On Monday night, we urge you to send a powerful message to the Latino community that you hear its concerns and prioritize building a City Council that increases this community's opportunity to meaningfully achieve representation into the future. Sincerely, Nicole Wong Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Asian Law Caucus 347