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Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
The man behind California's gerrymander
After transferring to American University in Washington, D.C., and earning a degree in communications, legal institutions, economics and government, Mitchell idealistically began working on campaigns out of college. He interned in 1998 with Al Checchi's famously profligate campaign for California's Democratic gubernatorial nomination, but never loved the work. Mitchell said he was distressed by the cycle of investing in someone's hopes and dreams only to watch them fail. He felt like he was failing with them. Data, he found, was more consistent. Mitchell worked as a legislative staffer for Democratic Assemblymember Nicole Parra and later in leadership roles for an educational non-profit called EdVoice. It wasn't until 2010 that he would find his real niche in California politics, founding a firm called Redistricting Partners at the behest of Christopher Cabaldon, a Mitchell mentor now serving as a Democratic state senator. First hired by community college districts to help set their boundaries, Mitchell grew Redistricting Partners into a full-fledged business sought out by dozens of counties, cities, special districts and even New York state. He established a flavor of map-making that was heavy on community input and public engagement. To him, redistricting was an iterative process of draft maps and discussions with community organizations. Mitchell had arrived in Sacramento as a strong Democrat with an activist mentality, but his views began to shift as he matured and built relationships on both sides of the political aisle. In 2012, he joined Political Data, Inc., whose effective monopoly on California voter information put Mitchell in a position to work with politicians of all stripes. He took pride in being able to sit down with the chairs of the Republican and Democratic parties and offer objective data tools. 'They see me as the data guy,' Mitchell said. 'I'm just part of the furniture.' With time Mitchell became less of a partisan and more of an 'institutionalist,' he said. His long ponytail has been replaced by a modest crew cut, the Marlboro Reds with bicycle races. He became a sage voice for California politics on TV and in the press. When Political Data, Inc. announced in 2021 it would work only with Democrats and left-leaning groups, Mitchell was actively peeved by the move. Such has been Mitchell's approach for the past 15 years. In Sacramento, his data, and his approach, was seen as above reproach. That may not be the case soon. 'I had never done a partisan redistricting,' Mitchell said this week. 'Until just now.' Mitchell's long ponytail has been replaced by a modest crew cut, the Marlboro Reds with bicycle races. | Courtesy of Paul Mitchell An outdated skill Last month, Newsom suggested rushing the type of partisan redraw that California hasn't seen in decades. The move first seemed an apparent feint by Newsom, an occasion to position himself as a defender of democracy while Texas Republicans looked to gerrymander their own state and add more safe Republican seats to Congress. Many observers saw the move as an example of Newsom's political ambition, emblematic of his desire to serve as the prime public antagonizer to Trump and the Republican party.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The vote is in as City of Galt readies for district elections
Mar. 22—The Galt City Council will hold a special meeting in the next week to approve new voting district boundary lines, marking a new era in elections. The council on Tuesday selected a proposed final map during a fifth and final public hearing that separates the city into five voting districts for the 2026 election. The map, submitted by a Galt resident and referred to as the "Speer Map," was slightly tweaked by the council before final boundaries were set. The proposed first council district will encompass the westernmost portion of Galt west of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, while the second district will be made up of the southern end of the city south of New Hope Road. The third district will include north Galt between UPRR and Highway 99, as well south of Amador Avenue on the eastern side of the highway. It will also include the area adjacent to the eastern side of the highway north of Amador Avenue. The fourth district will encompass the areas east of Highway 99 to Carllion Boulevard and some neighborhoods south of Amador Avenue. The fifth district will include the northeastern part of Galt east of Carillion Boulevard. The city contracted with Sacramento-based Redistricting Partners to help with the process, and Elizabeth Stitt, redistricting manager with Redistricting Partners, the firm assisting the city with the process, said if the map is ultimately selected, the three odd-numbered district seats will be up for election in 2026, and the remaining two in 2028. "Once 2028 happens, the map is fully adopted," she said. "So there will be two years when you're in a hybrid system of two at-large members and three districted members. City staff said the map must be published for at least seven days before the council can vote to approve boundaries. The map must be approved before April 1, staff said. The map is in response to a letter the city received last 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. "No matter what map we have, we have to make a map that's compliant," Mayor Shawn Farmer said. "Obviously we have a lot of growth happening in Galt and these maps — some of these districts are going to be out of whack in the the next two years before our next census." A date and time for the council's special meeting has not been announced. To view the proposed map, visit
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
City of Galt moving to five election districts
Feb. 20—Galt residents will not be selecting a mayor in future elections. 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.
