Rohnert Park delays decision on district-based election map after public outcry

The Rohnert Park City Council on Tuesday delayed final adoption of a disputed plan for district elections that would protect three incumbents up for reelection this year from having to run against a fellow council member.

The move came in the wake of some public criticism about the plan, including one resident who signaled at Tuesday’s council meeting the possibility of a lawsuit should the city adopt the district map.

“It will be challenged,” said Chris Meyer, 69, of Rohnert Park. “I would seriously ask you to reconsider your choice … if you want to avoid a costly court case.”

The map in question would ensure that Mayor Joe Callinan, Vice Mayor Jake Mackenzie and Councilwoman Gina Belforte would not have to run against another incumbent this year.

Callinan said he heard from a half-dozen constituents before the meeting who questioned that plan. He called on the council to back a two-week postponement to reconsider their options. The council voted 5-0 to wait on finalizing their selection.

In meetings next month, the council will review new and existing maps, according to Callinan and Mackenzie.

“I just felt - all five of us just felt - that we didn’t have the right map and wanted to examine other maps,” Callinan said by phone Wednesday. “There were some residents who felt that we were not doing it correctly … and I understand that. ... We’re trying to address that.”

The step back came at what was set to be the last in a series of public meetings Rohnert Park begun last year to shift from citywide to district-based elections for City Council.

The council, in a 4-1 decision, cast its first vote Jan. 14 in favor of the disputed map. The Tuesday agenda called for a second vote to formally adopt that plan, set to take effect for the November 2020 election.

The public backlash focused partly on the safeguarding of incumbents. But critics also said the chosen map had cut up some of the city’s established neighborhoods, grouping them in separate districts.

Parts of the city’s predominantly Latino neighborhoods, the A and B sections, would have been pulled into separate districts, potentially diminishing the political power of a growing demographic group.

Such divisions could violate the state’s voting rights law, which seeks to protect communities of interest and keep established neighborhoods together.

The shift to district elections was spurred by a legal threat from Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman, who last fall accused Rohnert Park of disenfranchising Latino residents through its at-large voting system for council seats.

Latinos now account for about a quarter of the city’s almost 44,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Shenkman, reached by phone Wednesday, said he had been tracking the city’s process, but would not say if he thought the council’s favored map left Rohnert Park open for a voting-rights lawsuit.

“I’ve seen worse, but I’ve seen better, too,” he said. “Before a map is adopted, there’s nothing to sue about.”

Belforte was the lone council member to oppose the map earlier this month. On Wednesday, she reiterated her opinion that the city needs to look at a different option.

“We owe it to the community, we owe to the city to get it right,” Belforte said. She said last year that she intends to seek a fourth term this year on the council.

“If I have to run against somebody, but it’s in the best interest of the city, that’s what it means,” she said. “It’s not about me or my incumbency.”

The council plans to meet again to discuss maps on Feb. 11 and 25.

The pause comes amid persistent criticism over how the city has handled the process.

The council twice met behind closed doors this month to discuss the change to district-based elections. In at least one of those sessions, Callinan previously said, council members reviewed maps with the city consultant - a step that toes the line with state law requiring such government deliberations be conducted in public, according to an open-meetings law expert.

“This is supposed to be an open, public thing. Why wasn’t it?” Rohnert Park resident Debbie Woods told the council Tuesday. “You all went off and made this map, yourselves, with a closed door. Those districts that you all came up with allow you all to keep your seats, and I think that’s wrong. I really do.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.