14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY December 12-18, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com It’s possibly one of the most democratic tasks any citizen can partake in besides voting—direct participation in drawing the boundaries of future voting districts. Residents of Pacific Grove now face that task as the city creates six districts for the first time. The small city is under pressure of legal action by the League of United Latin American Citizens District 12 under the California Voting Rights Act. The P.G. City Council must approve a map by mid-March to avoid a lawsuit. LULAC first approached the city in 2022 demanding the city switch from at-large to by-district voting. Pending court decisions stemming from other cities resisting districting put the challenge to P.G. on hold. The legal dust settled in 2023, making it clear no jurisdiction could reject districting once challenged. In August, LULAC made another formal request and P.G. City Attorney Brian Pierik told councilmembers it would be unwise and costly to challenge LULAC in court. In September, the council voted in favor of moving toward creating by-district voting. At the time, how many districts P.G. would need was in question, since Measure Z—reducing the number of councilmembers from six to four—was on the Nov. 5 ballot. Measure Z lost, leaving the city to create six districts. (The mayor will continue to be elected at-large.) P.G. has no geographic concentrations of Latinos or other ethnic and racial groups but under the California Voting Rights Act, a jurisdiction can be challenged on whether voters who are not in a protected class will vote in a bloc to defeat preferred candidates of a protected class. To get to six districts there is a process, said Jeff Tilton, a senior consultant with the National Demographics Corporation, at the first required public hearing held on Nov. 20. The city must follow both federal and state laws to divide the city into districts. Residents are encouraged to participate, including through drawing their own draft maps. “Folks can start drawing maps today. We take napkins,” Tilton said. “We try to decipher it.” Not every suggested map is viable under the law, however. Districts must contain roughly equal populations, with up to a 10-percent deviation across districts. The law requires the use of 2020 Census numbers, which in P.G.’s case is 15,125 residents, or approximately 2,521 people per district. The districts drawn must avoid dividing neighborhoods or “communities of interest,” such as socioeconomic areas of the city, and must have identifiable boundaries. Residents may submit paper maps now, using a downloadable map or an online mapping tool available through the city’s website at bit.ly/ PGDistrictMaps. A public workshop at 6pm on Jan. 8 at City Hall will explain how to draft maps. “The big meat-and-potatoes will be to assist people on the mapping tools,” Tilton said. By law, there must be four public hearings. The second is scheduled for 6pm Wednesday, Dec. 18. Two hearings are scheduled to consider draft maps on Feb. 5 and March 5. Adoption of a final map is set for March 19. Map Making Pacific Grove residents have the chance to determine the city’s future voting districts. By Pam Marino A map of P.G’s neighborhoods is a good starting point to create voting districts, consultant Jeff Tilton told the P.G. City Council on Nov. 20. The city must create six districts by mid-March. NEWS “Start drawing maps today. We take napkins.” CITY OF PACIFIC GROVE VISITS AND PHOTOS WITH SANTA Nov. 25 - Dec. 24 Santa’s Workshop ‘tis the season of joy DEL MONTE HOLIDAY GIFT WRAP Donations benefit local community civic groups. Santa’s Workshop GIFT WRAPPING AT LUSH Sustainable gift wrapping available. Near the Fountain Courtyard #JINGLE DELMONTE Follow us on IG and enter your holiday photo for a chance to win prizes. We have extended our shopping hours for the holiday, please check our website for hours each day at shopdelmonte.com 'tis the season of joy Highway 1 at Munras Avenue, Monterey 831.373.2705 shopdelmonte.com
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