West County Issue Voting Rights :...

Nao Takasugi, Oxnard mayor

It is not a question of money so much as we really felt there could not be found a basis for the suit. I think to be successful, under the Civil Rights Act, there need to be certain findings about the composition of the city and the disposition of ethnic groups to justify this kind of lawsuit. That basis is not here in Oxnard. The experts have shown quite clearly that the situations that have existed in Watsonville and Stockton (where similar lawsuits were filed successfully) are not apparent here in the city of Oxnard. Therefore there was no basis for the suit. That’s why the city of Oxnard resisted. If it did go to district voting, I would want the individual candidates from the different districts to be voted upon by citizens at large. Anyone who gets on the council makes important decisions for the entire citizenry and is accountable to all areas of the city, not just their own area.

Dr. Manuel Lopez, Oxnard City Council member

I am for letting the voters decide. I think the prudent thing to do would have been to have an election. It would have cost, at the maximum, $40,000 or $50,000. I think there is an element of fear in the City Council that there could be a change in the districts if it went to an election. My feeling is: If the voters decide, we would still retain the same system. I do not think the people that would be voting would support a change. Traditionally, the people who vote in special elections are very conservative people who don’t go for changes. I don’t think historically, citywide elections for council members have been fair. If you’re talking about minority representation, only three Latinos have been elected in the 88-year history of the city. I don’t think that is proper representation.

Dorothy S. Maron, Oxnard City Council member

No. It would be going backwards. We had reform in the state sometime earlier in this century. I believe that elections “by” district would be part of that going backwards. On the other hand, I’m perfectly willing and probably will next week ask to put on the next regular election ballot the “from” districts question. “From” districts means council people get elected from an area or a district, but everybody in the city votes for them. That person is accountable not only to his district people, but to the rest of the city. I think that’s the fair way to go. I have not seen anything in that idea that is similar to ward politics, as I do with “by” districts. “By” means you have a council person who is essentially only interested in their particular district.

Marco Antonio Abarca, Staff attorney, California Rural Legal Assistance

This idea of district or at-large elections has been put into an Hispanic versus Anglo issue. But there are many people outside the Hispanic community who would rather see district elections. This is really about taking political control and giving it over to neighborhoods. This kind of election encourages grass-roots candidates who can’t afford big, citywide campaigns. Running only in a neighborhood or district means the candidate can meet everybody in the district. Neighborhoods do have issues that are special to them. This is an issue about getting the City Council responsive to the people’s needs. Because Mr. Soria (the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed against Oxnard) has run out of money does not mean this issue is coming to an end. It will keep going until large segments of Oxnard feel that their votes are not ignored.

David Hartsuck, President, Oxnard chapter Public Employees Assn., Local 998

As president of the union I’d have to say we’re certainly against spending city money we supposedly don’t have. If an election would have been a cheaper way to do it, we should have chosen the cheaper route and let the people decide. Personally I don’t care one way or the other. Maybe if I were running for City Council from my own district, there would be a lot fewer people to talk to, to discuss the issues with, to try to sell yourself to, so I might prefer “by” district. I think if we did have districting I would like to see maybe six districts and the mayor elected at large. That would give you an even number, and smaller districts, so meeting with constituents to talk about the issues would almost be like neighborhood council meetings. I think council persons are more aware of the problems in their constituency, but I think every council person would have the city as a whole in their best interest.