CC Resolution 12423RESOLUTION NO. 12423
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CAMPBELL ADOPTING
THE 'CRITERIA TO GUIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CITY COUNCIL ELECTORAL
DISTRICTS AND SETTING THE NUMBER OF DISTRICTS TO BE ESTABLISHED
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Campbell ("The City") was elected
under an "at large" election system whereby five (5) Councilmembers were elected by
voters of the entire City; and
WHEREAS, On January 15, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution 12402
declaring its intent to transition from at -large to district based elections and adopted a
timeline setting forth the tentative dates for adopting an ordinance to achieve this; and
WHEREAS, On March 19, 2019 and April 2, 2019 the City Council conducted a
public hearings at which time it received testimony from the public regarding appropriate
criteria to be used to form the districts; and
WHEREAS, the City has retained an experienced demographer and special legal
counsel to assist the City in establishing a by -district electoral system; and
WHEREAS, The City Council has fully considered the presentations of its
consultants and all of the public comments received; and
WHEREAS, the City Council now wishes to adopt criteria to guide the
establishment of electoral districts consistent with legal requirements; and
WHEREAS, the Federal Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1973) prohibits the
use of any voting qualification, or prerequisite to voting, or standard practice or
procedure in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any
citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color; and
WHEREAS, federal law and the equal protection clause require that each district
be equal in population to ensure compliance with the "one person, one vote" rule;
however, deviations less than five percent (5%) greater than or less than the ideal, for a
total of ten percent (10%) deviation are presumptively constitutional under the equal
protection clause where required to.meet an official criteria; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has instructed its demographer and city staff to
develop draft maps that fully comply with legal requirements and intends to provide
official criteria for any needed deviations.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of
Campbell does hereby adopt the criteria identified in Exhibit A to guide the
establishment of districts for City Council elections; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council does hereby direct that five
(5) districts be established for .the district based electoral system to be implemented
beginning with the November 2020 City Council election.
x BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City Council does hereby direct that five
(5) districts be established for the district based electoral system to be implemented
beginning with the November 2020 City Council election.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 2nd day of April, 2019, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: Councilmembers: Resnikoff, Bybee, Gibbons, Landry, Waterman
NOES: Councilmembers: None
ABSENT: Councilmembers: None
ATTEST:
i
Wendy Wood, City Clerk
APPROVED:
Richard M. Waterman, Mayor-
-2-
Exhibit A
Specification of Criteria to Guide the Establishment of Electoral Districts
1. Each Council District shall contain a nearly equal number of inhabitants; and
2. Council District borders shall be drawn in a manner that complies with the Federal
Voting Rights Act; and
3. Council districts shall consist of contiguous territory in as compact form as possible;
and
4. Council districts shall respect communities of interest as much as possible; and
5. Council district borders shall follow visible natural and man-made geographical and
topographical features as much as possible.