City Receives "Ransom Letter"; Divide IB's Voters - or Pay!

IMPERIAL BEACH, CA - On Tuesday, September 25, 2018, less than 30 residents and city staff attended the first of five mandatory public hearings regarding a Electoral District process.

Dividing lines will be drawn based on the first 2 or 3 hearings.

"It's a ransom letter," questioned one local resident at Tuesday night's lightly attended public hearing to divide Imperial Beach into four districts, one for each council member.

Future councilmembers will be required to live in their respective district to run for a council seat. Voters will vote for just one council member and the mayor.

The city has no choice but to create council districts after receiving this damning demand letter from a team of lawyers who boast a 100% success rate in suing cities for not complying with the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA).

Receipt of the demand letter has already cost the city $30k in fees to the lawyers, and has triggered a strict timeline the city must follow to avoid a lawsuit - and penalties as high as $4.7 million.

Imperial Beach's at-large systems dilutes the ability of Latinos (a "protected class") - to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of Imperial Bach's council elections.
- Excerpt from Shenkman & Hughes Attorneys - Letter to IB

"Latinos are 49% of the total population and 41% of the eligible voters", according to 2010 Decennial Census information provided at Tuesday night's presentation by Justin Levitt of National Demographics Corporation (NDC). Levitt's firm was hired by the city to help with the process.

In the 50+ years since Imperial Beach became an incorporated city, there has not been a mayor or councilmember with a Hispanic surname.

Referencing the glaring disparity, the letter states;

There is truly no conceivable or defensible way that the City Council could have missed this deficit. Regardless, City Council has failed to take corrective action.
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When minority voters feel disenfranchised by their city's government and its election system, their participation in either understandably decreases. This is likely the case in Imperial Beach.
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What matters is that the unsubtle racist beliefs of the Imperial Beach citizens, insofar as they effectively deter and bar Latinos from participation in city government, have solidified the City Council as a racist institution.

Current Council and Election

Surprisingly, none of the city's elected officials attended the first hearing. Darnisha Hunter, the only council candidate to attend, questioned the city's expert on how the process would effect current council members.

According to Levitt, councilmembers will continue to serve "at-large" until their term ends. It is unclear which two districts will be on the ballot in 2020, or how that critical decision will be made.

Currently, two councilmembers reside on the west side of IB, one in central, and one on the northern side.

Districting Criteria

Districts must be drawn in full compliance with the Federal Voting Right Act, with no racial gerrymandering, and with equal population - within 10% - in each district.

Additional consideration may be giving to;

• Communities of interest
• Compact
• Contiguous
• Visible (Natural & man-made) boundaries
• Respect voters’ choices/continuity in office
• Planned future growth/Growth since 2010

City Officials Want & Need Your Input

Dividing lines are being drawn based on these meetings and community input. Which district do you want to live in?

City Manager, Andy Hall, request residents to provide input by attending the public hearings, or by emailing him directly ahall@imperialbeachca.gov with your comment(s) and/or the following;

1. What is your neighborhood or “community of interest”?
2. Do you prefer your neighborhood be kept together in one district or have multiple representatives?
3. What are other communities of interest in the City that should be considered when drafting maps?

Here's a dedicated web page the city posted to provide all information relevant to the process.