CC MIN 02242022 - Laserfiche WebLink

In response to Councilmember Arkin's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman confirmed all of the plans he presented are legally compliant. He added people can file a lawsuit for many reasons and he cannot theorize what a judge would rule. He stated he was always looking to ensure he did not present a plan out of compliance with State and federal laws. Olson Remcho LLP attorney Tom Willis added the City does not have the racial issues that generally bring challenging litigation. He added courts generally give great deference to a City Council on judgement issues. He agreed with Mr. Wagaman's comments about the legality of the maps. In response to Councilmember Testa's inquiry, Mr. Wagaman clarified there are some specific prohibitions about gerrymandering relative to maps being drawn to favor a political party. He reported there was no direction from the Council to consider incumbency. He reported differences between some of the maps are simply based on competing directions from Council at public hearings. He reported he did not receive any direction from Council outside of the public hearings. He added some of the weirder lines on some maps are due to census geography in areas such as Bondi Ranch. He confirmed the issues leading to a gerrymandering determination were not part of this process. Councilmember Testa expressed her appreciation to Mr. Wagaman for explaining how the Currant Plan derived from the Combs Map following a ripple effect of changes. In response to Councilmember Balch's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman confirmed that on the Cherry Plan the boundary between Districts 2 and 3 follows Hopyard Road until it reaches the Arroyo Valle which it then follows until it reaches Main Street. He confirmed the intersection of Hopyard Road and Del Valle Parkway is where the boundary begins following the Arroyo Valle. In response to Councilmember Balch's inquiry, Mr. Wagaman confirmed the Currant Plan uses Sycamore Road to divide Districts 3 and 4, just like on the Lime Plan. In response to Mayor Brown's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman clarified the Yellow Map extended District 4 through downtown to the Alameda County Fairgrounds using Pleasanton Avenue and Division Street as dividing lines. He confirmed on the Yellow Map each side of Division Street is in a different district but added this happens on any street used as a boundary. In response to Mayor Brown's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman stated race and ethnicity is always the most confusing part of the districting process. He confirmed the City is being compelled to switch to districts under the CVRA because of race and ethnicity, speaking to whether or not to have districts. He added the CVRA does not speak to how districts are drawn for protected classes. He stated the federal Voting Rights Act will often favor drawing a district to keep a protected class whole. He reported Pleasanton's API community is relatively evenly distributed so the City does not meet the federal markers for drawing the entire community into a single district. He added State law does apply within the matter of sequencing to provide the protected class the best opportunity to elect a member of its protected class. Mayor Brown noted the Lime Plan's District 2 is the one instance where there is a substantially higher API population district at 37%. In response to Mayor Brown's inquiry, Mr. Wagaman clarified he does not have a sequencing -specific presentation. He noted the Council has received public feedback. He added as plans are discussed he can encourage which districts should be set for 2024 based on demographics. He clarified that all races and ethnicities vote at a higher rate in a Presidential election year but added the gap between the API voting turnout and the non -API voting turnout is smaller in a Presidential election year. He confirmed this is a fact -based analysis. In response to Mayor Brown's inquiries, Mr. Wagaman confirmed he is not aware of where the Councilmembers live. He clarified State law dictates if they were elected in 2020 a Councilmember would finish their term regardless of where the district lines are. He reported that in a different City Council Minutes Page 4 of 14 February 24, 2022