Pleasanton City Council Votes On Final District Map

Pleasanton CA

03 March, 2022

4:37 PM

Description

PLEASANTON, CA — The Pleasanton City Council voted 3-2 Tuesday to formalize a map of new electoral districts, one of several possible options presented by demographers. The Council voted Thursday to select the "Tangerine" plan as the top option, following four public meetings explaining the different options. On Tuesday, the Council passed the adoption of the Tangerine Map on the first reading, and the second reading and final adoption is scheduled for March 15. Roughly speaking, the Tangerine plan puts District 1 in northwest Pleasanton, from its western and northern borders to the Arroyo Mocho creek. District 2 is bounded by Hopyard Road to the west, Arroyo Mocho to the north, and the city's eastern limit's to the east. District 3 is in the southwest, from the western borders to the south of Arroyo Mocho to the south of Hopyard Road. District 4 is in the southeast, from Santa Rita Road to the eastern borders. Mayor Karla Brown, Vice Mayor Valerie Arkin, and Councilmember Julie Testa voted in favor of the map. Council members Jack Balch and Kathy Narum voted against it. Following final adoption, the new map will be in effect for the next 10 years. While Councilmembers will now represent a district, the mayor position will remain at-large. Districts would conduct elections on a staggered basis. Until now, Pleasanton voted at-large, but on Aug. 5, the City was threatened with litigation claiming that its at-large system violated the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. A letter from Attorney Kevin Shenkman claimed that at-large elections contributed to "political polarization," and the dilution of Asian and Latino voters. The Pleasanton Council announced the switch in September, in light of the fact that no city who has challenged Shenkman in court has won. With the decision, Pleasanton became one of the largest cities in the Bay Area and the state to make the switch. A professional demographer worked with the City Council and the public to create different map options that grouped the city by "communities of interest," or neighborhoods or communities that would benefit from being in the same district because of shared interests, views or characteristics, such as schools, roads, or demographic characteristics. The Tangerine plan, unlike some other options, places each current councilmember in a separate district. It places District 1 in northwest Pleasanton, District 3 in the southwest, and perhaps most controversially, splits Ventana Hills into different districts. Balch, Narum, and many Pleasanton voters have voiced support for the "Lime" option, which would have seen Testa and Balch in the same district.