Sonoma holds first public hearing on voluntary shift to district elections

The Sonoma City Council opened a public hearing Dec. 18 on the city’s voluntary transition from an at-large election system to single-member districts, hearing a presentation from demographer Paul Mitchell of Redistricting Partners and public comment. The hearing was the first of a minimum five required by state law for jurisdictions converting under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA).

The presentation laid out the legal and technical framework for the conversion, explained the data the city will use and outlined a schedule that includes a post-map hearing on Feb. 19, 2025. Paul Mitchell, owner of Redistricting Partners, told the council the city will use 2020 decennial Census counts (with state reallocation of prison population where applicable) for total population and American Community Survey data for demographic estimates such as citizen voting-age population (CVAP).

The matter matters to voters because a switch from at-large to district elections changes who votes for which council seat, affects eligibility to run in particular seats and can alter the geographic focus of campaigns. City staff and the consultant emphasized that district lines…