City Council Seeks Draft Electoral District Maps from Public
For some time now the City Council has been considering when, and under what circumstances, Cathedral City should make the switch from electing Councilmembers at-large to electing them from districts. Briefly, the “at-large” Council election method, the system Cathedral City has used up to this point, provides that Councilmembers can live anywhere in the City and all five Councilmembers are elected by all the voters in the City. The “by-district” Council election method, the system to which Cathedral City will be transitioning, provides that the City is divided into five Council districts with each district electing one Councilmember. Candidates for a district seat must live in that district and only voters who live in the district may participate in the district Council election.
The City Council has opted to follow a detailed process to develop and adopt Council district maps as the City converts from “at-large” to “by-district” commencing during the November 2018 election. The process is designed to provide ample opportunity for the public to participate in the process.
The Council awarded a contract back in January to National Demographics Corporation (NDC), a firm that has the specific expertise necessary to guide the City through the map drawing process and to make sure the districts ultimately considered comply with the federal and state Voting Rights laws. Further, Council took the additional step of providing an on-line map drawing tool, available through NDC that will allow any interested person to prepare their own draft maps for consideration. A link to the on-line map drawing feature is available through the City website, http://www.cathedralcity.gov/government/electoral-districts or by going to the following site, http://lexington.caliper.com/CathedralCity/. The deadline for community members to submit their draft maps is May 15 and NDC will post their draft maps, along with any prepared by the public, to the City website by May 18.
Another public hearing will be held during the Council meeting on June 14 to allow the public to comment on any of the draft maps provided.
The first “by-district” Council election would then occur for three Council seats during the November 2018 general election. The other two seats will be elected “by-district” during the November 2020 general election.
Please take this opportunity to draw your preferred district map. Your design may be the map that is ultimately adopted.
