16 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 10-16, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com Soledad is the latest local city joining other jurisdictions in a transition away from at-large elections to district-based elections. The concept is that underrepresented voters are more likely to successfully elect a candidate of their choosing when they vote in a small district, rather than votes being diluted in a city at large. Soledad officials received a letter on Feb. 1, 2022, notifying them they might be violating the federal Voting Rights Act, prompting the city to embark on a transition. District-based elections in Soledad will start in 2024, and the city’s process to there started last year. The city ultimately received seven potential maps from residents and a consultant, National Demographics Corporation, presenting different configurations for drawing districts with equal population. The maps have names like “tan,” “apple,” and “501” and were presented at various community meetings. They were reviewed by the city’s Advisory Community Districting Committee, which is made up of five members, one appointed by each member of City Council. The advisory committee recommended four of the seven maps to City Council. They voted 5-0 to recommend two with four council districts (Tan and 401) and a mayor at large; they were divided, voting 3-2 to recommend two options with five districts, and the role of mayor rotating (Apple and 501). That 3-2 vote was echoed in an Aug. 2 City Council discussion, with appointees expressing the same views as their appointing councilmembers. Councilmembers Maria Corralejo, Ben Jimenez Jr. and Alejandro Chavez favored the five-district map, saying it would bring more equity. “The mayor is a title,” Councilmember Jimenez said. Meanwhile, Mayor Anna Velazquez and Councilmember Fernando Cabrera supported a four-district map. During the Aug. 2 meeting, most public speakers favored having the four-district model and keeping the mayor’s seat at large. “Having five districts eliminates the ability for the community to elect the mayor, which does not fall under equitable guidelines,” Lupita Arroyo said. The only resident to speak in support of the five-district maps was Frank Corralejo, Councilmember Corralejo’s husband. City Council’s political dynamics run barely under the surface. One of the five-district maps on the table, 501, was drawn by Fred Ledesma, Soledad’s former mayor of 10 years, who was unseated in 2020 by Velazquez with a 15-percent margin. 501 puts Velazquez and Cabrera, her political ally, in the same district—if that map is chosen, Velazquez wouldn’t be able to run for two years since Cabrera’s term ends in 2026. “They want to get rid of one of us so that they can make decisions on their own,” Cabrera says. On Sept. 6, Soledad City Council is scheduled to select a map—either Tan, with four districts and an at-large mayor, or 501, with five districts—and determine the sequence of when seats will be up for election. Power Play Factions in Soledad City Council clash over district election maps. By Celia Jiménez Soledad Mayor Anna Velazquez supports keeping the mayor as an at-large position, or asking voters what they prefer. “Let’s take it back out to the voters and let them choose the way,” she says. NEWS “They want to get rid of one of us.” PARKER SEIBOLD PRESENTED BY
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