San Mateo Releases District Election Shift Outreach Schedule

SAN MATEO, CA — The city of San Mateo released its outreach schedule last week regarding community engagement ahead of a transition to district elections for future city council members.

Under the new system, San Mateo would be split into districts, with each district represented by one city council member who lives in that district. The first such election will take place next November, replacing the current system where council members are elected at-large. The shift happened after the city was threatened with litigation alleging that its current election system violated the California Voting Rights Act.

The outreach planned by the city includes five virtual public hearings from late August through November and several in-person community workshops. It will be split into two phases. The first phase involves collecting input to define the city’s “communities of interest” and the second phase involves residents’ input on how districts should be divided before the council approves a final map.

San Mateo plans to finish the process by Nov. 15. The city has been negotiating with the attorney who filed the lawsuit for an extension to allow for the use of 2020 Census data in the process.

“While the negotiations have thus far been unsuccessful, the Council felt it would be a detriment to the public to rush through a process to establish districts, then have to immediately begin the process to redistrict once the new Census information is released,” the city said in a news release.

San Mateo Mayor Eric Rodriguez also pushed for more time.

“Shifting to district elections is transformational for the San Mateo community and empowering residents with more opportunities to determine their election system is critical,” Rodriguez said. “This extended timeline allows us to hear from more residents and use the latest 2020 Census data expected to be released in September.”

Click here for more information on the outreach process.