City Of Half Moon Bay: News Release - Community Encouraged To Participate In Re-Drawing Council Election Districts

Press release from the City of Half Moon Bay:

August 9, 2021

Click here to learn more about Half Moon Bay's 2021 Redistricting Process.

In 2018, after a significant public input process, the City of Half Moon Bay approved a transition for voters to elect city councilmembers by geographic district, instead of through at-large citywide elections. The November 3, 2020 election was the first to utilize the new districts. District boundaries are required to be re-drawn every ten years based on the most recent US Census data. Following the 2020 Census, the City has formed a Redistricting Advisory Committee and embarked on a public-based process to evaluate and re-draw district lines. 

The community is invited and strongly encouraged to participate in this process, have their voices heard, and be part of creating election district lines which accurately represent the voters of Half Moon Bay.

The Redistricting Advisory Committee (RAC), made up of a variety of Half Moon Bay community members, has scheduled a series of public meetings to study the boundaries of the City’s four districts, supported by a professional demographer and City staff. Following an extensive community engagement and input process, the Committee will recommend draft district boundaries to the City Council, which will review, approve, and adopt a final district map.

The first series of RAC meetings this summer includes two public workshops and two public hearings. Then, in late 2021 and early 2022, there will be additional meetings and public hearings to finalize and adopt the selected map (see meeting schedule below). Additionally, the City’s website at hmbcity.com/redistricting will have updated information about the process. A special website is also available at DrawHMB.org, where people can review the existing district boundary maps, make their own suggested adjustments when public mappings opens, and submit them to the RAC. 

The websites and upcoming meetings, workshops, and public hearings are all opportunities for community members to be part of this important undertaking.

“This is a once-in-a decade opportunity for our community members to join together in reshaping Half Moon Bay’s voting district boundaries,” said Half Moon Bay Mayor Robert Brownstone. “Your voice is the most important part of this process – I encourage everyone to participate and help assure that we create new district maps that work for our entire Half Moon Bay community.”

Meeting Schedule (see hmbcity.org/redistricting for updated times and locations of meetings) 

This press release was produced by the City of Half Moon Bay. The views expressed here are the author’s own.