Laserfiche WebLink
jurisdiction, two at-large incumbents were drawn into the same district but with different terms. He <br /> stated they ran against each other for the district seat and the person in the middle of their term won, <br /> creating a Council vacancy. He added had the victor lost, they would have still finished their term as an <br /> at-large. Mr. Willis clarified the Council needs to consider which members are termed out so there <br /> would still be two districts up for election every two years along with the Mayor. He clarified the City <br /> would lock in the districts up for reelection in the sequencing. He added if no Councilmember lives in a <br /> district being elected in 2022 it is considered an open seat. He stated if two Councilmembers live in the <br /> same district the situation Mr. Wagaman described applies depending on whether or not the one <br /> terming out in 2024 decides to run against the one terming out in 2022. He clarified the sequencing of <br /> the districts is not being aligned to specific people. <br /> Mr. Wagaman noted this is a difficult concept. He clarified there will be three elections in both 2022 and <br /> 2024, one for Mayor and two for Councilmembers. He stated there is a possibility there could be three <br /> Councilmember vacancies in 2022 from his above scenario of two Councilmembers living in the same <br /> district but noted the extra vacancy would be for only a two-year term and there would still be the <br /> regular cycle of elections in 2024. He confirmed there could be four of the five seats turning over in <br /> 2022 depending on the districts, residences, sequences, and individual decisions, but the City would <br /> not be permanently locked into this situation. <br /> In response to Mayor Brown's inquiry, Mr. Wagaman confirmed the potential two-year vacancy would <br /> be considered at-large and not have to be appointed from the unrepresented district because the <br /> district would not exist for electoral purposes until 2024. <br /> In response to Councilmember Narum's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman clarified the law calls for the deviation <br /> from the largest district to the smallest be no more than 10% but it does not mean a single district <br /> cannot be 5% more than the others. He added all of his plans are within the 10% deviation. He <br /> confirmed there is no obligation to pick the plan with the lowest deviation. He noted it is the highest- <br /> ranked criterion, but added it needs to be balanced against the other criteria. <br /> Mayor Brown reported Mr. Wagaman recommends asking the Councilmembers to list their top three <br /> maps. <br /> Councilmember Arkin stated this process is not easy and added having even populations overall is <br /> different than having equal community of interest populations. She added there are also factors of <br /> compactness, growth potential, and other elements. She added school boundaries would have been <br /> nice but those proved to not be easy and added those boundaries are being changed as well. She <br /> added starting in 2022 the city will be divided between two State Assembly districts and two Alameda <br /> County Board of Supervisors districts. She stated the Tangerine Plan and Orange Map are her top two <br /> choices and she does not have a third favorite. <br /> Councilmember Balch stated his top three choices are the Lime, Currant, and Cherry Plans. He stated <br /> no plan better equally divides the population than the Lime Plan and it is also the most easily <br /> identifiable to the public. He noted the public speakers commended having four quadrants radiating <br /> from a single point. He added the districts are contiguous following major arterial roads and the Arroyo <br /> Valle. He added the Lime Plan lends itself well to preventing manipulation by future Councils. He added <br /> the Lime Plan makes sense for having the lowest deviation at 1.8% plus the high 37% API population in <br /> District 2. He added for sequencing, it would be easy to inform residents which side of the city is up for <br /> election in any given year. <br /> Councilmember Narum stated her preference is for the Lime, Cherry, and Currant Plans. She noted the <br /> Lime Plan has the smallest deviation with the next closest being the Tangerine Plan at more than <br /> double the Lime Plan's, adding this is the most important criterion. She added the Lime Plan is <br /> contiguous and could not be more easily understandable. She added the neighborhoods are intact in <br /> the Lime Plan. She stated the Tangerine Plan is odd in the Bondi Ranch area. Noting even the <br /> City Council Minutes Page 5 of 14 February 24, 2022 <br />