The city of San Leandro will hold a special election on June 2 asking voters to approve or not approve a by-district elections system. The mayor will still be picked by all voters in the city.
According to the resolution passed on Feb. 2, the ballot question would read, “In conformance with the California Voting Rights Act, one council member shall be nominated and elected from each council member district only by the registered voters of that district.”
This means voters would vote for one councilmember and one mayoral candidate. City clerk Sarah Bunting said during the meeting the special election would cost around $500,000. The by-district elections system will take effect starting this November.
The city’s ordinance to establish by-district elections said the city council received a letter from law firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian, & Ho in November 2024. It said that their client believes the city’s at-large system violates the California Voting Rights Act by diluting votes from Asian voters who don’t have the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. The letter threatened a lawsuit if the city doesn’t change their elections system to a by-district one.
The city council voted on a district map in June of last year after four public hearings and feedback from residents.
