Tustin is on its way to becoming yet another Orange County city to ditch at-large elections in favor of district elections.
Though several steps still must take place, the city council on Tuesday, Aug. 3, voted unanimously to launch by-district elections by November of 2022.
City officials say they’re making the move to avoid expensive litigation.
Depending on one’s perspective, that shift is either unfairly forced or justly nudged.
In June of last year, Tustin officials received a letter from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which argued that the city’s current system violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) of 2001. In the letter, MALDEF argued that the traditional at-large election system in Tustin diluted the power of Latino voters and prevented them from “electing candidates of their choice.”
Civil rights groups and attorneys have sent similar letters to other cities in Southern California – as well as to school boards, water districts and other elected bodies. Most have converted to district elections without much argument.
Going into the Aug. 3 council meeting, the city faced a tight deadline of Aug. 14 to make a decision. If the council didn’t vote to start the transition, MALDEF could proceed with a lawsuit.
“The resolution does not agree that the city violates CVRA but agrees to start the process of transitioning,” said City Attorney David Kendig.
The city now has 90 days, with a possible extension of another 90 days, to adopt an ordinance solidifying what is now a non-binding “intention to transition.” As part of the process, a demographer will draft several potential voting maps – carving the city into districts based on population. Public hearings regarding districts are due to begin this month.
Under Tustin’s current model, all registered voters can choose who sits on the city council for four-year-terms. Elections are staggered every two years, so voters check three names in some years and two names in others.
But civil rights activists argue that the at-large system drowns out voices in largely minority neighborhoods.
Though some 29% of Tustin residents identify as Latino, MALDEF’s letter to the city noted, “in the last 20 years, only one Latino candidate has ever been elected.” That council member is Beckie Gomez, who was reelected last year after terming out in 2018.
The organization is asking that at least one of the new districts in Tustin include a majority of Latino voters.
Over the past few years, a parade of Orange County entities have moved to district elections. Critics of at-large elections argue that they can shrink the political power of a protected class, such as Latino voters.
Already, in 2017, the Tustin Unified School District, flipped to by-district elections under pressure.
Tustin’s attorney, Kendig, warned the council that other cities have poured a lot of money fighting similar lawsuits.
Seven years ago, Anaheim spent $1.1 million before relenting to by-district elections. In 2015, Palmdale backed down after forking over $4.7 million. Santa Monica has spent $8 million on still-active litigation.
Two Tustin councilmen, Austin Lumbard and Ryan Gallagher, expressed frustration Tuesday over such legal threats.
“The CVRA is a flawed law. But we’re really stuck,” Lumbard said. “We could fight this and in all likelihood lose, at least monetarily.”
Districts, Lumbard said, limit voters to “one choice instead of five.”
“This diverse council is a product of at-large voting,” Lumbard said. “The concept that voters prefer candidates of the same class they are, I think, is ludicrous.”
Currently, Tustin has two minorities on the council, Gomez and Mayor Letitia Clark, who is Black. In their comments, both women highlighted advantages of district voting.
Gomez said citywide campaigns can be cost-prohibitive for many people. “Working in a smaller area to garner votes is a lot less expensive.”
And hyper-local elections, she said, can lead to more minorities getting a seat at the table.
“You look at the demographics of Tustin and we have not been accurately represented,” Gomez said.
Clark said that the trend toward by-district elections is not fueled by the assumption that voters “only want to choose people who look like them or have similar surnames.”
Still, she said, “People who live within certain areas can be the voice of their neighborhoods.”
