Public hearing on Jan. 25 will focus on draft district-based election maps
The City will host a public hearing on January 25 for the presentation of draft district-based election maps by the Center for Demographic Research.
The maps, which were designed by members of the community, are now available for viewing at this link.
The City has long sought the public's help in mapping out what a district-based election would look like and hosted the December 16 District Mapping Workshop regarding the process to show residents how maps are created. The deadline to submit was earlier this month.
The public is invited to provide input regarding the content of any draft map.
For more information, contact 949-470-3052 or districtelections@cityofmissionviejo.org.
The City Council meets at 6 pm. Meetings are streamed live and air on Cox Channel 30 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99. Residents are encouraged to sign up for the City's eNewsletter and follow the City's official social media sites for the most accurate, up-to-date information.
Comments
Before the council starts…
Before the council starts its discussions on district map selections, they need to first publicly discuss why it was determined that only three districts will be going out for a vote in 2022.
The excuse of not going out to vote on all five districts to maintain staggered elections is another false narrative.
The public is already rightfully suspicious of the process.
To maintain staggered elections, and to keep politics out of the process, here is a solution used by many other cities when it switched from at large to district-based voting: You put five tiles numbered 1-5 in a bag. The first three numbers drawn will be the districts designated for the four-year term. The remaining two tiles will represent the districts that are for a two-year term.
On September 14, 2021, under Item # 22, the council again extended their terms in office. You will not find any public record of this action. There was not a Staff Report and this is what is in the Official Minutes: "Received update from City Attorney Bill Curley and City Clerk Kimberly Schmitt."
This action was the last business item on the agenda. If you were not in the audience, or were not up late watching the council meeting or did not review the video of the September 14, 2021 council meeting, you would not know that then Mayor Trish Kelley announced that only three districts will be going out to vote in 2022. Meaning that her term in office along with Brian Goodell will be extended for another two years.
How does all this work when the district maps have yet to be finalized?