At a Special Meeting on March 5, 2025 at 5pm, Sonoma’s City Council will review maps of the city divided into election districts. This meeting is the third in a series leading up to the possible adoption of District-Based vs. At-Large elections of City Council members. As noted in the staff report, “Although there is no evidence suggesting that Sonoma’s current election system violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) or any other law, the City has chosen to transition voluntarily. This proactive approach aims to mitigate potential legal risks, similar to challenges faced by other cities across California.”
The legal risks noted by the city consists of a demand letter sent by a California attorney who has made a practice of sending such letters to jurisdictions combined with a threat litigation. The City of Sonoma has not received any demand letter, and its actions are purely voluntary. It has allocated $50,000 for the process of exploring a transition to District-Based voting.
The city has engaged Redistricting Partners to assist in the process by analyzing the balance of number of voters, ethnicity, and other factors in the designation of proposed districts. A decision about whether to create four or five districts has not yet been made, and maps showing both approaches will be considered. The city solicited public participation in mapping ideas, and the are all available to view at https://www.sonomacity.org/district-maps/.
Public Engagement Process
The CVRA establishes a structure for public engagement, requiring five public hearings:
1. Two hearings before any draft maps are drawn to gather public input.
2. Two hearings after draft maps are published to consider public feedback and refine the maps.
3. A final hearing to adopt a map that has been made public at least seven days prior to adoption.
Redistricting Partners is collaborating with the City to conduct presentations, gather and document public input, and utilize these hearings to determine initial criteria for draft maps as well as amend maps based on public feedback.
The adjusted timeline for these actions is as follows:
- December 18, 2024 (5:00 PM): Special Meeting for the first public hearing what districting is and how it works (City Council Chambers). (COMPLETED)
- January 15, 2025 (6:00 PM): Second public hearing to gather feedback on election structure, use of mapping tools, and public engagement on communities of interest. (COMPLETED)
- February 26, 2025: Publication of draft district maps for public review on the City’s website. (COMPLETED)
- March 5, 2025: Third public hearing to review the draft maps published February 26, 2025, and discuss feedback.
- March 19, 2025: Fourth public hearing for the City Council to select a preferred district map.
- April 2, 2025: City Council adoption of the ordinance to implement district-based elections.
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