Leaders consider 16 options for new council districts
Officials are seeking to change election process; draft maps considered
With 16 options to choose from, Ontario leaders this month may select a map that would divide the community for the first time into four separate City Council districts.
The council considered the 16 draft maps at its meeting Tuesday and is set to review them again July 19.
For more than a century, the council has been elected in citywide contests. But beginning in 2024, council members would be elected in specific districts. The mayor, meanwhile, would be elected at-large by all city voters.
At a meeting July 5, the council conducted its fourth public hearing on districting. Staff presented information on 16 different draft maps, all compliant with state and federal voting laws. Most of the drafts were made by Ontario residents after several community workshops and public outreach efforts, and some by city demographic consultants.
Some council members raised concerns about draft maps that divided areas of interest, such as the historic district. And some of the maps put the Ontario International Airport into one district, some in two.
One legal consideration for the draft maps is to “respect racial minority voices” and prevent gerrymandering in districts, Assistant City Attorney Ryan Guiboa told the council.
The population of Ontario is about 176,000, so each of the four council districts will have approximately 44,000 residents. The majority of Ontario residents, 70% to 80%, are Hispanic or Latino, according to 2020 U.S. census data.
“Each of the draft maps submitted contain the maximum amount of majority-minority districts, which is four,” Guiboa said. “All draft maps have four majority-minority Hispanic districts.”
The districting discussion comes more than two years after the city pledged in February 2020 to begin by-district elections by this November. The change was postponed two years, however, meaning the seats of two incumbents, Council Members Alan Wapner and James Bowman, will be decided by voters citywide on the November 2022 ballot, as in the past.
Ontario resident Chris Robles filed a lawsuit with the city in March 2020 asking for districts to be established in the 50-square-mile city. Scott Raferty, Robles’ attorney, said in 2020 that at-large voting, the way it’s always been in Ontario, is unfair because it’s difficult and expensive for a challenger to run for election in the entire city, thus allowing incumbents to stay in power.
The coronavirus pandemic and court backlog postponed the case, which was later settled when both parties agreed to citywide electoral districts being drawn by August. The delay means voters will elect council members in two districts in November 2024 and two more in 2026.
At the meeting, Robles and another speaker expressed concerns about the city’s “lack of transparency” with community members.
Ana Gonzalez, the executive director of the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, said she was concerned that the city’s minority residents of color were not fully given a voice in the districting pro
cess, with the city having a meeting right after the July 4 holiday weekend.
The nonprofit supported draft Map 10, which she said keeps residents’ main priorities — including school districts and the agricultural community — “as whole as possible.”
“Most importantly, (that) our Latino, Black and Asian communities remain whole,” Gonzalez said. “There’s plenty of time for this council to have more input from the community … we ask that you provide more time.”
Robles agreed that voters need more time to propose and review the maps before districts can be finalized. He read a letter from his attorney, Raferty, alleging violations of the California Voting Rights Act because the city “(failed) to hold premap hearings within the required interval.”
“This is a recipe for the council to unilaterally choose its own map without any meaningful consideration of public input,” Robles said, reading from the letter. “We reserve the right to seek additional remedies, including a special election, to replace all at-large members at the 2024 general election or sooner, and a redistricting commission to allow the public to revise the maps to reflect population growth before the next census.”
A fifth public hearing to review, and possibly approve, the city’s first-ever district map is set for July 19. A final ordinance will be adopted at the council meeting Aug. 2.
Most neighboring cities have switched to to district voting or agreed to do so, including Claremont, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Chino, Chino Hills and Fontana. Pomona has had district elections since the 1990s.
More information on Ontario’s districting process and how to submit input can be found online at ontarioca.gov/districts.