Board hears five draft trustee‑area maps as part of transition from at‑large elections

Consultants for Healdsburg Unified told the board on Feb. 12 that the district must move from at‑large to trustee‑area elections to reduce legal risk under the California Voting Rights Act. Jonathan Salt, the district project lead, said the board will consider a final map March 27 and may initiate a petition to the county committee after that meeting.

Dr. Justin Levitt, a demographer with National Demographics Corporation, walked trustees through five draft options (labeled by color) and the population data that shaped them. He said the district population is about 16,000 and noted a key difference between total population and citizen voting‑age population: “The total population is 62% non‑Hispanic white; that increases to almost 80% non‑Hispanic white by eligible voters,” he said, explaining why a district that appears diverse by total population may show reduced influence for Latino voters when measured by eligible voters.

Board members and members of the public asked technical questions about how census blocks and streets can split neighborhoods and whether feeder elementary districts in outlying areas would be underrepresented. Resident Maria Hadley told the board she worried that sparsely populated Alexander Valley and Westside areas would be “underrepresented because our trustee would always be appointed” if candidates do not run from those areas.

The consultant said maps were drawn blind to incumbents’ residences and included sequencing proposals to avoid having two incumbents serving the same area simultaneously. Trustees noted the tradeoffs in the maps — some options minimize division of Healdsburg city while others create trustee areas that pair rural and city neighborhoods. The board closed the public hearing after receiving questions and public comments and scheduled two more hearings in March before a March 27 adoption resolution.