Some Hayward leaders are still resisting districting

Hayward mayor unwittingly revealed that he doesn't understand council districting

CITY NEWS

HAYWARD

—RESISTING DISTRICTING—Hayward Mayor Mark Salinas’ dissatisfaction with having to comply with the California Voters Right Act through the districting of city council seats in 2026 is not going away.

—The city received and later settled a complaint last spring that asserted its use of at-large council elections hindered the ability of Asian Americans to get elected to the city council.

—Ever since, Salinas and other councilmembers have directed their gripes at the attorney, who on the behalf of their client, successfully forced the city into complying with the law and kickstarting a districting process set on turbo.

—At a special meeting on Tuesday, Salinas showed his disdain for Walnut Creek-based attorney Scott Rafferty, twice mentioning the Contra Costa County city when referring to him.

—The second mention raised the ire of Rafferty, who said he took offense to the mayor’s suggestion that only an attorney from Hayward should be able to file a civil rights complaint against the city.

—Rafferty equated Salinas’ suggestion to taunts made against white attorneys who sought to desegregate the south generations ago.

—“It violates a concern about the intentionality of what you’re proposing to do,”Rafferty said, “which is to split apart communities of interest, to blend high-income and low-income, so that you can perpetuate  microcosms of the at-large system, and that is not a proper objective.”…

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MORE INSIDE:

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—Look out for a full preview of the November ballot on Monday.