District Elections

I was very pleased to hear that the NAACP will push for district elections of San Diego City Council.

I, too, am of the opinion that the present system of electing council members on a citywide basis has not served the residents of our communities, especially those of us in the 4th and 8th districts. Too often, we have seen our council members ignore our districts, while showing a great concern for problems in areas where high campaign contributions and voter turn-out are anticipated.

As a result of this system and other discriminatory practices by the city, the Latino and black communities continue to decay while the predominantly white and affluent areas of the city enjoy some of the highest quality of life in the nation.

District elections will help make council members accountable to their district constituents. No longer will council members be elected into office after being rejected by district voters.

We should not expect district elections to solve all the ills in our communities. Nor should we be so naive as to think a new elective system will be without its own problems.

The benefits that district elections could bring to our communities, so poorly represented in the past, far outweigh any adverse effects (real or imagined) of the district elections system.

AL DUCHENY

San Diego