Hayward's resistance to district-based elections bucks countywide trend of appeasement

Hayward's at-large system undermines voting power of Asian Americans, lawyer says; Alameda could be next to make district-based elections switch; Dro city mgr is done; Berkeley D4 special elex preview

CITY NEWS

HAYWARD

—RESISTANCE IS FUTILE—Back in 2017, Fremont was one of the first municipalities in the East Bay to be hit with the threat of a lawsuit asserting its use of at-large council elections violated the California Voters Rights Act.

—The legal threat was made by Kevin Shenkman, an intrepid Southern California attorney intent on remaking how cities elect their officials, while at the same time pocketing a little change for himself and his law firm.

—Fremont’s city attorney and, later, those in other East Bay cities were thoroughly spooked by Shenkman’s legal threat.

—His legal argument appeared airtight. One-by-one city attorney’s across Alameda County advised their council’s to quickly acquiesce to Shenkman’s demand and call for district-based elections.

—Furthermore, fighting the potential lawsuit, even if successful in court, would cost their city millions, city attorney’s repeatedly advised.

—Most of the legal complaints over the CVRA in Alameda County have been delivered by Shenkman.

—But the recent complaint lodged against the city of Hayward comes via Scott Rafferty, a Walnut Creek lawyer using Shenkman’s playbook.

JURISDICTIONS HIT WITH CVRA THREATS

SINCE 2017

• Fremont (2017-CVRA threat)

• Union City (2019 (CVRA threat)

• Dublin (2022-CVRA threat)

• Pleasanton (2022-CVRA threat)

• Livermore (2018-voluntary)

• AC Transit (2024-CVRA threat)

• Hayward (2024-CVRA threat)

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—Hayward’s response to Rafferty’s legal complaint, however, has been far more dismissive than all other cities…

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