Commentary: Council districts won’t improve representation

The state Supreme Court recently denied review of a ruling that requires charter cities to switch to district elections based on majority-minority representation.

Advocates say that holding district elections is a solution to incorporating more voters in areas that have a history of racially polarized voting. Many cities have ended up doing away with at-large elections because of the threat of costly lawsuits.

This trend has begun to spill into Orange County, with Anaheim being the latest example. The city will be asking voters in November if council elections should be by district.

It’s important that voters feel engaged in the political process, but these recent efforts to bring district elections to cities with at-large seats seem to be motivated by politics rather than a desire to promote civic engagement. If one looks at the groups pushing these measures, they tend to be made up of union leaders and organizers who have been unsuccessful in electing voices that advocate their agenda. Because they can’t win at the voting booth, advocacy groups argue their cause before sympathetic judges who rule in their favor.

This leads to the introduction of big-city-style ward politics in local neighborhoods, where special interests become kingmakers in selecting candidates to represent these narrowly drawn districts that define a city’s overall agenda.

Advocates for district elections contend that individuals who share an ethnic-racial connection with their community are best suited to understand the needs of that community. This belief that a district is entitled to a representative based solely on the color of skin is fraught with dangers.

If one group is to elect a representative in an area where their proportion is high, what about in areas in which it’s low? In California’s 43rd Congressional District, Spanish-speaking voters make up a majority of the population but are represented by Rep. Maxine Waters, who is black. Is Waters not qualified to represent her district because she does not have the same skin color as the majority ethnic group in her district? Regardless of the examples, this can be an alarming approach to take in electing our representatives.

Throughout my time in public service, I have heard from residents who don’t necessarily want representatives who look like them, but rather they want representatives who will listen to their concerns.

As a member of the Assembly, I’ve represented our district on a range of issues that went beyond the challenges I faced while serving as mayor of Costa Mesa. I have been able to work with local leaders from all backgrounds on substantive issues, including introducing legislation that addresses quality-of-life concerns and protesting the misuse of public funds for toll lanes. By being open and engaged with all residents, elected officials are able to represent the needs of any community.

It’s too early to tell what Anaheim residents will decide when it comes to how they elect their council, but fragmenting voters within districts results in communities being entrenched in city politics and cronyism, while qualified candidates who can best address community needs, based on sound ideas regardless of their race, are excluded.

Assemblyman ALLAN MANSOOR (R-Costa Mesa) is a candidate for the Orange County Board of Supervisors.