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Ontario council directs staff to begin switch to by‑district elections after closed‑session resolution

Ontario City Council · May 11, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

After a closed‑session report, the Ontario City Council directed staff to initiate procedures to adopt by‑district City Council elections in 2022 following the census. Public commenters and outside counsel clashed with council members over notice and Voting Rights Act concerns.

The Ontario City Council directed staff to begin procedures to transition from at‑large to by‑district City Council elections in 2022, the council announced after returning from a closed session.

City Attorney: "staff was directed to put forward this resolution for the council to move to by district elections in 2022 following the receipt of the census," the City Attorney said, adding that the resolution will be posted on the city's website and copies made available to the public.

Why it matters: The change would alter how City Council members are elected and has become a flashpoint in the community: outside counsel and several residents argued it is needed to address alleged vote dilution under federal law, while other residents and…

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