Anaheim Councilwoman Kris Murray
Anaheim Councilwoman Kris Murray has been a voice of reason and sanity on the issue of single-member council districts — which, it should be noted, would limit the representation currently enjoyed by Anaheim voters.
As it stands, every Anaheim voter gets to vote for their Mayor and for all four Councilmembers. Switching to single-member districts would limit each voter to a vote for only the mayor and the one council member elected to serve their geographic area.
Here’s Kris Murray’s op-ed that ran in yesterday’s OC Register:
Anaheim Elections: Residents, Not Special Interests, Will Determine Anaheim’s Governance
Whether you believe Anaheim should be broken into single-member council districts or that residents have the right to elect their entire City Council, the process of determining such a change matters. Both the ACLU and Mayor Tom Tait pushed for swift action to place a ballot initiative in front of Anaheim voters before the community had any opportunity to play a part in the process. As it turns out, if the council had approved the ballot initiative proposed by Mayor Tait last year to divide Anaheim into single-member districts, it would have been a violation of state law.
Page view of the Point/Counterpoint Opinion Section with Council Member Kris Murray. Courtesy of the Orange County Register
In the wake of the City of Bell corruption scandal, state law was changed requiring Charter Cities, like Anaheim, to engage their citizenry in a broad public process before any changes to their charter can be put before the voters. The law (AB1344) became effective on January 1, 2012 and requires extensive public noticing and a minimum of two hearings before the council may consider and approve initiatives changing the city’s charter. None of these steps occurred before Mayor Tait’s ballot initiative was agendized for Council consideration last September.
Today, Anaheim is served by a five member City Council, sworn to represent residents at-large. That means the Council must consider impacts of the budget, city services, and policies from a city-wide perspective and govern in the best interest of the entire population. A move to single-member districts would limit each citizen to a vote for the mayor and the one council member elected to serve their geographic area.
Anaheim is a geographically, ethnically diverse Charter City – the largest in Orange County. During the past two decades, Anaheim voters have repeatedly elected members of diverse ethnic backgrounds to at-large council seats. Anaheim voters have also been responsive to ensuring geographic diversity – in fact, Mayor Tom Tait is the first Mayor in 20 years to live in Anaheim Hills. Anaheim has never been challenged with allegations that the city is in violation of the Federal Voting Rights Act.
The ACLU has sued the City of Anaheim claiming violations of the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The lawsuit alleges that the city’s at-large elections are discriminatory and demands that Anaheim change to single-member council districts. My position has been that hastily moving any plan to the ballot would short-circuit the process the Council is legally bound to uphold. State and federal elections laws are complicated, and if the will of voters is to change the current system, there are a number of legal options available.
For instance, if the city moves to single-member districts, what is the right number? Mayor Tait has proposed six districts while activists have called for eight. How many is best or would achieve the lawsuit’s objective to achieve greater Latino representation on the City Council? What about systems like Newport Beach and Santa Ana, which define district areas but elect their councils at-large? There is no one size fits all approach and we should take the time to get it right before any one approach is placed on the ballot.
Last September, the Council established the Citizens Committee on Elections, to study all legal options for election systems and voter outreach. The recommendations are due in May and just last week, the citizens committee began to work on a framework for its report to the Council. The judge presiding over the lawsuit (Moreno v. Anaheim) recently granted Anaheim’s request for a stay on the proceedings until Council has the opportunity to act on the committee’s recommendations.
The people of Anaheim have the legal, moral and democratic right to be involved in any fundamental changes to how they are governed and how their city council is elected. It is important to continue working with our citizens – despite the demands of the ACLU and special interests – on any recommendations that may come to the ballot.
Thank you Kris Murray – just thank you!
[Deleted due to the mendacious, malicious and immature nature of the content.]
Oh good grief. You regularly have people in your comments section who are all but calling for Tom Tait to be drawn and quartered in response to just about anything, so be the bigger man and let people like Jason and Gustavo say what they want to say, Matthew. If Jason’s comment was indeed as “mendacious, malicious, and immature” as you say, one would think that letting it stand as-is would be a great advertisement against your opposition.
OK, Biff. Why don’t you post under your real name, and then allow people to attack your character and reputation with falsehoods and half-truths. Then we’ll consult your opinion on how I regulate the comments.
OK, Biff. Why don’t you post under your real name, and then allow people to attack your character and reputation
Since I have an opinion that’s somewhat to the left of the let’s-string-Tom-Tait-up-and-then-impeach-him crowd that dominates this site, I feel pretty confident that would happen. And I’m sure that you’d let it all stand, since the only time you seem to edit/delete comments is when they’re (apparently) less-than-complimentary to your paymasters.
But, really, I’m getting above myself. For just a moment, I was confusing this site for an actual discussion of community concerns, forgetting that it’s really just your personal money-making enterprise. And it’s wrong for me to come between a man and his meal ticket.
Ah, the I’m-better-and-smarter-than-you-all condescension that is Biff’s trademark. Please, shower us lesser life forms with more of your erudition and world-weary wisdom, Biff.
[Deleted due to being an adolescent personal attack dressed up as self-regarding intellectualism.]
Oh, who cares what Biff has to say, anyway? He thinks he’s smart, but he never has anything to offer but insults. Ignore him
[Biff: Blah, blah, blah.]
[Deleted for petty, petulant threat of legal action.]
Kudos to Kris Murray. She is doing an incredible job fighting against the public employee unions. She has never hid behind the fact that she represents the residents and not union bosses.
Matt should be commended for being the only one out there telling us what is really going one with council districts.
Matt, Thanks for this Blog for Anaheim, where one gets the information without “Yellow journalism.”
I’ve posted a response to items you’ve blogged about in the past and I’m sure it is “Biff” who has made accusations following my replies of being a minion of yours.
For the record: 1) you and I do not know each other, 2) I’m a 36 year resident of Anaheim, 3) I’m not your minion, 4) I believe with the ability for anyone to set up a blog and webpage, doesn’t mean the information is always accurate, 4) I do believe when people attach YOU, Matt, personally on their blogs calling for the firing of you; well it just reeks of McCarthyism