La Verne To Host Fourth Districting Hearing Nov. 15

LA VERNE, CA — La Verne City Council will host its fourth districting hearing on Monday, Nov. 15.

Residents may participate in the hearing and submit comments via Zoom, email or in person at this link.

At the meeting, council members will review and discuss draft maps, the election sequence, select a final map and introduce an ordinance to adopt.

The city’s demographer, National Demographics Corporation (NDC), will also present four and five-district map options for review.

According to the city, if the council were to consider a four-district system with a mayor elected at-large, they will need to weigh the consequences of such a decision including the possibility that it could dilute certain communities of interest.

The original resolution unanimously adopted by the La Verne City Council, which initiated the districting process, was done so with the intent of creating five districts, resulting in a rotating mayor, city officials said.

"Like the city’s current form of government under the municipal code, all five elected positions—four council members and a mayor—would possess the same voting power and collaborate to carry out policy direction," the city said in a news release.

Under state law, the city has until Dec. 15, 2021 to adopt a district map and pass the ordinance.

Districting is the process where district lines are drawn within a city for the purposes of electing a city council member. Districting determines which neighborhoods and communities are grouped together into a voting district.

Drawing district lines occurs every 10 years following the release of the U.S. Census results.

Should the La Verne Council decide to adopt the by-district ordinance, La Verne voters would vote for one city council member who lives in their district instead of voting for all city council members.