City of Galt moving to five election districts
The Galt City Council on Tuesday directed staff and consulting firm Redistricting Partners to draft maps with five election districts and present the final renderings at the March 4 meeting.
The maps are part of answer to a letter the city received in August claiming Galt's current at-large system of voting dilutes the ability of Latino voters to elect candidates of their choice or to otherwise influence the outcome of an election.
The letter, drafted by the Shenkman & Hughes law firm on behalf of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, also claimed the at-large elections violate the California Voting Rights Act, which became law in 2003 and attempts to prevent the disenfranchisement of protected classes. A protected class, staff said, is comprised of voters who are members of a race, color, or language minority group.
City staff said the letter was a prerequisite to having a lawsuit filed against it, and something no other agency has successfully defended. To avoid a lawsuit, the council in October voted to transition from at-large elections to district elections by April 8.
The council had been given the option to move to four districts with an elected at-large mayor, or five districts with a rotating mayor.
Councilmembers Mathew Pratton, Tim Reed and Bonnie Rodriguez favored a five-district election, stating that because Galt was still a relatively small town, there was no need to elect an at-large mayor. Pratton feared that opening the city to an elected mayor could produce a victor who ran for power more than for the good of the people.
"It's hard to get people to run in this town," he said. "It's a lot of work and most people don't want to do it. To get them to run for mayor is going to be even harder. And I think it narrows us down to folks possibly with ulterior motives."
Although Reed favored a five-district council, he thought the division would actually encourage more people to seek office. Resident Paul Salinas favored breaking the council into four districts and electing a mayor who would ultimately have the final decision on issues during meetings.
"The buck stops with one person," he said. "We are familiar with a system — if you look at the federal and state elections — we vote for president. We vote for governor. If you look at your staff there's always a senior person in charge. Someone has to take responsibility. Someone has to take the lead."
At previous meetings, Chris Brossman favored splitting the council into five districts. But at Tuesday's meeting, he began leaning toward four districts and a mayor, again expressing concern if someone did not run for a particular seat.
"The other side to that is, you guys aren't exactly paid handsomely, so maybe we should look at the mayor's salary and increase it over double, because his time is going to be more encompassing," he said.
Vice Mayor Paul Sandhu also favored four districts and a mayor, but said he would go along with what the majority of the council decided.
"We have the opportunity to give more power to the residents," he said of electing a mayor. "And then in the districts, everybody can be their own district. With you running for just one district, someone with a problem will call you, and you can say 'that's my problem and I can solve it.'"
Once a final map is selected, council seats in districts 1, 3 and 5 will be up for election in 2026. Seats for districts 2 and 4 will be up for election in 2028.
The council will assign district numbers specific areas at a future meeting.
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'Ciattarelli, in my opinion, is going to have to own everything this administration has done, because he's showing no willingness to act independently of it,' said Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J. But Ciattarelli, 63, a former state lawmaker and small businessman, is betting that voters who are concerned about the state's high cost of living will ultimately place the blame on Murphy and his fellow Democrats. Asked if Trump bears any responsibility for voters' persistent economic concerns, Ciattarelli said: 'The economy did better in his first term than it did in Joe Biden's term. And we've just received news the unemployment rate is down and that consumer price index is down significantly. So there is greater confidence in President Trump's economic policies." "But let's be clear, what's going on with our state economy has everything to do with the current administration,' Ciattarelli said, referring to Murphy. Angel Castillo, who owns El Primito restaurant in Passaic, said that's why he's backing Ciattarelli again this year, after voting for him in 2021 when he lost a close race to Murphy. 'Right now, the cost of living throughout the whole state is ridiculous. Especially a little business like this, we're barely making it,' Castillo said. 'And I can show you my electric bill. My electric bill, since Murphy took office, almost doubled.' 'Buyer's remorse'? While the economy remains a top issue for Latino voters, Trump's efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and ramp up deportations are also raising concerns among Latino voters across the country and in New Jersey, where nearly 1 in 4 residents are foreign-born. A national survey of Latino voters conducted in late July by Equis Research, a Democratic firm, found 26% of Latino voters who cast ballots for Trump last year said they are disappointed in him or regret voting for him, citing Trump's focus on mass deportations and inaction on the economy. In New Jersey, a majority of likely voters, including Hispanics, say the Trump administration is doing 'too much' on deportations, according to a July Fairleigh Dickinson University survey. Nearly 30% of voters overall, and half of Hispanic voters, say they are worried a family member or close friend could be deported. 'Every Puerto Rican and Dominican that I've talked to in New Jersey who supported Donald Trump has all said the same thing in focus groups, which is: 'I wanted him to bring prices down. I thought Joe Biden was old and weak, but I did not vote for him to start locking up folks who just came here seeking a better life, who've broken no laws other than trying to flee to this country for safety,'' said Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha, who has conducted focus groups with Latino nonprofits throughout the Northeast. Menendez, the congressman, said Ciattarelli will also have to own Trump's immigration actions, noting: 'There's already buyer's remorse, not just in the Latino community, but in a lot of different pockets of this state and this country. And that's absolutely going to be on the ballot come November.' Campos-Medina said the deportations have stoked fear and uncertainty among Latino communities in New Jersey, which could hurt Hispanic-owned businesses if their customers are wary of going out. While Campos-Medina said Democrats' message should be focused on the economy, she added, 'That doesn't mean that we don't acknowledge the damage that Donald Trump is doing to our communities, in the harassment, in the terrorization of our immigrant neighbors.' Ciattarelli said he did not disagree with Trump's approach to deportations, noting that Trump's victory in Passaic County last year 'strongly suggests that Latinos that are here legally support the president's efforts in securing the border and deporting people that came here illegally who have a history of criminality in their country of origin and/or have committed a crime since arriving illegally.' 'As I go around the state, I find Latino Americans support that policy,' Ciattarelli said. 'As do I.' That includes Castillo, the Passaic restaurant owner, who dismissed any concerns about deportations. 'If you're here and you're here doing the right thing, why should you be worried about it?' he said. Even as Ciattarelli makes his case, early polling suggests that Sherrill could have an edge among Latino voters this fall. A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll and a StimSight Research Survey from July both found Sherrill with leads in the low double-digits among Latino voters, although both surveys had small sample sizes, meaning there is larger room for error. Both surveys also found sizable chunks of Latino voters remain undecided in the race. Those undecided voters include a woman named Jess, who declined to share her last name while discussing politics. She chatted briefly with Ciattarelli as he visited Parrillada Costambar, a Dominican restaurant in Paterson, later on Saturday afternoon. A Democrat who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris last year, Jess said she is has not yet decided if she'll back Sherrill or Ciattarelli for governor, noting that combating drugs and improving education are among her top issues. 'I have to sit down and see their proposals to see what they are going to do for us,' she said. This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword
