Santa Paula Council to Place Voting Districts on Fall Ballot

In an effort to satisfy the terms of a federal lawsuit, a divided Santa Paula City Council has approved placing a measure on the November ballot that could carve the mostly Latino community into five voting districts.

Council members Laura Flores Espinosa and John Procter pushed to delay the decision until April, saying more public education was needed on the issue. But the other three members, including Mayor Ray Luna, said Thursday it was time to move forward.

“I’m sure the board majority wants the community to be as little informed as possible,” said Espinosa, who was the sole Latino on the council before Luna’s election in 2000.

“It was the usual 3-2 vote,” Espinosa said.

City Atty. Phil Romney will craft the ballot measure in coming weeks, and a committee will help draw the proposed district boundaries before July.

“We’re taking a giant step, and it’s going to change Santa Paula forever,” Luna said. “I’m not saying it’s the best thing for the city, and it could create more division. I guess we’ll find out.”

The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2000, alleged that the city’s at-large voting system violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and perpetuated racial discrimination by preventing Latino candidates from being elected to the council.

In August, city leaders agreed to a settlement that included giving voters the say on whether to remain with an at-large election system or create a district format in which council members would represent specific neighborhoods.

Justice officials and civil rights activists believe a district system would yield better representation for Latinos, in part because many neighborhoods in the city are almost entirely Latino.

“That has been the traditional remedy for racially polarized voting,” Espinosa said. “This is a major opportunity for citizens to be able to have representative government, and that strengthens the voice of the community.”

Espinosa has been criticized in the past for her support of the Department of Justice action. In December, she was passed over for the ceremonial mayoral post, angering Latino activists who said it served to further divide the city’s working-class Latino population from the white establishment.

If a majority of the city’s 10,734 registered voters pass the measure, Santa Paula would become the first city in the county to elect its leaders by district.

While common in large cities, the move is unusual for such a small town, Ventura County elections chief Bruce Bradley said.

Of the city’s 29,000 residents, about two-thirds are Latino. But a much smaller proportion is registered to vote and an even smaller proportion turns out on election day. Only six Latinos have ever been elected to the council in the city’s 100-year history.

From now until November, Espinosa said, she will work to register more Santa Paula residents to vote and educate voters on the difference between at-large and district voting. The council in August approved spending $50,000 on a nonpartisan voter-registration drive.