City of Lodi receives MALDEF complaint
Group is threatening legal action over Lodi’s at-large election system
A week after the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) sent the City of Lodi a letter threatening legal action over its at-large elections system, city officials have confirmed receiving the letter and Tuesday a special closed session meeting will be held to further evaluate this issue.
After allegedly receiving complaints from Latino voters in Lodi, MALDEF sent the letter which stated that the current system used to elect city council members has diluted the Latino vote in the city and resulted in an under-representation of Latino residents on the council. The group says that Latinos in Lodi are a protected class and the system violates the California Voting Rights Act.
“We demand that the city convert its at-large election system to a district-based electoral system. Under the authority of Government Code § 34886 the City Council can effectuate that conversion by passage of a resolution, and we demand that it do so without delay. We request your response to this demand within 45 days of receipt of this letter,” the letter read. “In the absence of a satisfactory response, we will be forced to seek judicial relief in the form of an action to obtain an order converting the election system from at-large to by district, together with other relief provided for in the California Voting Rights Act, including an award of litigation and expert witness costs, and attorneys’ fees. The City can avoid the imposition of a judiciallymandated plan, including district maps designed or approved by the Court, by taking appropriate action without the filing of litigation.”
City Manager Steve Schwabauer said that the city is not intentionally diluting votes and that he didn’t agree with the MALDEF’s claim.
According to Schwabauer, the at-large system is widely used and was created in response to allegations that elections by districts had a potential for cronyism.
“I don’t agree with that proposition, but in terms of whether or not it is in fact doing that, it’s something we have an obligation to look at in terms of fairness to all of our residents,” Schwabauer said. “We’re currently doing our due diligence in regard to the letter. Obviously I haven’t had the opportunity and the city attorney hasn’t had the opportunity to give the city council any legal advice.”
When asked why Lodi doesn’t have a districting system, he said that districting election systems are rare in the state and across the country.
“At-large elections were considered the hallmark of good government for 100 years because they were thought to be a counter to the Boss Tweed/ Tammany Hall precinct-run cronyism,” Schwabauer said. “At-large election systems
were considered the state-ofthe-art way to run election systems.”
The city will take a serious look at whether there is in fact a risk that it is disenfranchising some of its voters and will act appropriately if it is, Schwabauer said.
When asked her thoughts on the letter, Councilwoman JoAnne Mounce said she couldn’t say much due to it being a legal issue. However she did make one thing clear:
“I don’t respond well to threats,” she said.
Like Schwabauer, Councilman Mark Chandler said he too disagreed that the at-large system diluted the Latino vote. He said he’s very open to having more diversity of youths and Latinos in elections and in council and felt as though the current at-large system was working.
In regards to having a district system, Chandler said he understood the concern that a majority of Latinos lived on the Eastside but expressed that the community is being very well represented by JoAnne Mounce.