CHICO — The city of Chico held its second public hearing on districting Wednesday, to re-introduce the new city demographer and create a forum outside of the time and place of regular City Council meetings for citizens to hear information.
The city is required by state law to hold two public hearings, but has chosen to hold three, said Michael Wagaman, the demographer. He is an expert in the study of statistics relating to human populations, and will help the Chico draw its district maps.
“What is districting? Fundamentally, instead of everybody voting for everybody, you get one district and you vote for one person,” Wagaman told the council when he was formally introduced in November. “These are not abstract discussions here; this will impact how people are governed going into the future.”
A dedicated website has been set up for citizens who wish to read pertinent documents and submit comments or questions. It can be found on the city’s website, www.chico.ca.us.
Moreover, the website can help people draw their own maps to submit to the council, Wagaman said.
Any map drawn by a member of the public will receive exactly the same attention and consideration by the city councilors as the draft maps he draws, he said.
Anyone who wishes to draw a map will have to consider the 90, simplified, aggregate census blocks that Wagaman has created to represent the more than 1,400 census blocks that comprise Chico. These census blocks must be considered, by law.
“It’s a tradeoff,” he said. “How much do you give folks versus how much of a barrier do you create to participation?”
Wagaman will use the full 1,400 census blocks, which provide greater detail about the city’s demographics. He said any publicly-submitted map that does not use these blocks will be lightly edited to maintain the spirit and intention of the map before it is presented to Chico’s City Council in December.
Wagaman said he has assisted approximately 10 other cities in the last two years with drawing district maps, including Vacaville in early 2018.
The draft maps will be made public on Dec. 23, and the council will choose its favorites in early January.
The council’s Feb. 4 meeting would be the first reading of the proposed ordinance to establish district elections and a special meeting Feb. 11 would host the final reading and probable adoption of that ordinance.
Any action after Feb. 11 — which is also the 90-day deadline from the council’s adoption of a resolution of intent on Nov. 12 — would be in violation of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 and could potentially cost Chico millions of dollars in legal fees.
“The city is facing a challenging deadline imposed by the state legislature,” Wagaman said. “The city is committed to meeting that deadline while still trying to be open and transparent about the process.”
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Drawing districts a complicated process on a strict deadline - Chico Enterprise-Record
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