By-District City Council Elections to be Discussed at Elk Grove-South County Democratic Club Meeting

August 7, 2017 |  

As part of their monthly meeting, the Elk Grove-South County Democratic Club will hear a presentation on by-district representation on the Elk Grove City Council.

The meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, August 8 at the Elk Grove Public Library on Elk Grove Boulevard and Elk Grove-Florin Road, will feature a presentation by Elk Grove resident Jim Kelly on his argument for changing the way council members are elected. Under the current from-district, council members have to live in one of the city's four districts but are elected citywide while by-district representation only run for election in the particular district where they live.

The argument for by-district representation, which is supported by a broad range of civil rights groups, is that from-district elections exclude individuals from less wealthy or minority communities because of the cost associated with running a citywide campaign. Advocates of maintaining the current from-district system, which includes Elk Grove City Council Members Steve Detrick, Pat Hume, Stephanie Nguyen and Darren Suen, assert from-district representation assures they are accountable to all city constituents.

In a recent interview Kelly told the Elk Grove Citizen that if the city does not voluntarily change to a by-district, which is possible by legislation sponsored by Assemblymember Jim Cooper and signed into law, he will attempt to qualify it for a local initiative. According to Kelly, he will need to gather a minimum 10,000 qualified signatures to place the item on the ballot.

Tuesday night's meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. and non club members are invited to attend.