El Cajon redistricting

ARAB COMMUNITY OBJECTS TO EL CAJON COUNCIL RETAINING DISTRICT LINES

By Elijah McKee
 
“It is unfathomable that a community hasn’t changed in five years.  This is a form of voter suppression, by dividing a community that can and should be kept together.” –Jeanine Erikat, Policy Associate at the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans
 
February 15, 2022 (El Cajon) — The City Council of El Cajon unanimously chose its Council districts map last Tuesday night, February 8. The decision, as part of decennial redistricting, determined how the City will elect council members for the next ten years. 
 
Instead of drawing new district lines, the Council voted to keep the same boundaries drawn up in 2017, despite sharp criticism from El Cajon’s large Arab-American community, whose leaders argue that their population has changed since five years ago. They asked for updated districting to create a fair and complete representation of El Cajon. 

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READER’S EDITORIAL: WHEN CITY COUNCIL DRAWS THE LINES, EL CAJON IGNORES COMMUNITY INPUT AND REFUSES TO CHANGE DISTRICT BOUNDARIES

By Rami Ibrahim

February 4, 2022 (El Cajon) -- The City of El Cajon is wrapping up its redistricting process to determine the boundaries of its Council districts for the next 10 years. But there is a catch. The City Council did not redistrict, and is instead on the precipice of adopting the exact map under which the current Council was elected. By ignoring state law and the voices of underrepresented communities who have been advocating for fair and representative districts, the City Council members revealed they had no intention to change the lines at all.


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EL CAJON APPROVES REDISTRICTING MAP; COUNCILMAN KALASHO THREATENS LAWSUIT

 

By Jonathan Goetz; Miriam Raftery also contributed to this article

May 26, 2017 (El Cajon) – Following a lively public hearing on drawing up city council district lines to comply with Voting Rights Act requirements aimed at increasing minority representation,  El Cajon’s City council voted 3-2 to adopt  Paul Circo’s map PCirco1 for council district elections. 

Councilman Ben Kalasho,  a Chaldean-American and the only minority on the Council,  earlier sent a letter threatening to sue his city if that map was approved and request public records to determine if gerrymandering laws or the Brown Act were violated. 

Mayor Bill Wells, Councilmen Gary Kendrick and Bob McClellan voted to approve the map drawn by Circo, a Republican who ran for Council in 2016.  Councilmembers Steve Goble and Kalasho voted against it.  The district election map  chosen squares Kalasho off against fellow Councilman Kendrick, who also lives in Fletcher Hills, on the opposite side of Parkway Plaza. It also pairs Councilmembers Steve Goble and Bob McClellan, leaving two other districts that will be open seats. The Mayor will continue to be elected at-large by all voters in the city.

The plan chosen creates three majority minority districts.  Two have 70% minorities and a third has 51% . The minority definition used is broad, including language minorities such as Arabic speakers as well as all classes protected under state and federal  Voting Rights Acts.


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EL CAJON SELECTS TOP FIVE MAPS

 

By Jonathan Goetz

May 12, 2017 (El Cajon) – After inviting the public to submit redistricting maps and hiring a consultant to advise the city as it moves toward district elections instead of citywide elections for all council members, the options have been narrowed to five maps.  Three of the five maps square Councilman Ben Kalasho off against Councilman Gary Kendrick by putting them in the same City Council District.  Four of the five maps put Councilman Bob McClellan and Councilman Steve Goble in the same district.  Below are the maps and descriptions of each proposal.


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PUBLIC INPUT INVITED ON DISTRICT ELECTION MAPPING APRIL 18 IN EL CAJON

 

East County News Service

April 16, 2017 (El Cajon) – El Cajon residents will have the opportunity to provide input on draft district maps for City Council elections.  A community workshop will be held on Tuesday, April 18 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the El Cajon Police Station community room, 100 Civic Center Way in El Cajon for input from the public.


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EL CAJON CITY COUNCIL APPROVES CRITERIA FOR DISTRICT ELECTION MAPPING: 5 PUBLIC WORKSHOPS PLANNED

 

Source: City of El Cajon

February 16, 2017 (El Cajon) – The City of El Cajon has announced five public workshops on redistricting set for February 22, 23 and 28, as well as March 1 and April 18.  All are from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.   See location details at the bottom of the article. 


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REDRAWING THE LINES: EL CAJON HOLDS PUBLIC HEARING ON REDISTRICTING TONIGHT

 

East County News Service

January 24, 2017 (El Cajon) -- El Cajon will hold public hearings tonight, January 24, and again on February 14th to approve criteria for creating City Council District boundaries and a schedule for establishing district elections. 


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CLOSE COUNCIL RACE IN EL CAJON; VOTERS APPROVE REDISTRICTING

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 9, 2016  (El Cajon) – With 43.6% of precincts counted,  a 10-candidate race for El Cajon City Council is still too close to call. There are three seats up—and currently, two challengers have edged ahead of incumbent Star Bales.

However voters handily approved Measure S, the redistricting proposal to establish district elections.  Measure S  has nearly 69% of the vote with 43.6% of precincts counted.


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EL CAJON COUNCIL APPROVES SHIFT TO DISTRICT ELECTIONS

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

July 16, 2015 (El Cajon) – El Cajon currently holds at-large elections where everyone in the city votes for all five Council races.  But on Tuesday, the City Council voted 5-0 to have staff move forward with implementing a shift to individual districts each electing its own representative.  The concept of districts aspires to provide greater representation for minorities to elect representatives reflective of their neighborhoods' concerns.


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