Gilroy moves toward district elections: council opts for six districts with at‑large mayor

Following a second required public hearing under the safe‑harbor districting process, the Gilroy City Council voted to proceed with a district‑based election plan using six council districts and an at‑large mayor.

Staff and the city’s demographer briefed the council and the public on the California Voting Rights Act, the districting criteria set in the Fair Maps Act, and outreach opportunities. The demographer explained the process: the city must hold five public meetings under the safe‑harbor procedure (two educational hearings, three map hearings) and complete the districting work within state timelines. The city will use 2020 census population counts to balance districts and citizen‑voting‑age‑population data to test for potential voting rights issues.

The demographer (Redistricting Partners) walked through criteria including equal population (less than 10% deviation), contiguity, compactness, identifiable boundaries and maintaining communities of interest. Staff announced two public outreach workshops: March 25 (7 p.m., South Valley Middle School) and March 29 (9:30 a.m., Christopher High School library). Maps will be posted by March 31; members of the public were urged to submit maps by March 30 if they wanted them considered.

After public comment and discussion, the council made a motion to proceed with drawing six districts and keeping a citywide, directly elected mayor. The motion (moved and seconded on the record) passed on a roll call with six votes in favor and Mayor Bozzo recorded as abstaining. Council directed staff and the demographer to use the six‑district framework for initial map drafting and to present draft maps at the next hearing. Additional outreach and translated materials were discussed; staff said Spanish translation will be provided at community workshops and staff will explore Spanish language materials and videos for Districtr.org.