SLO city hit with new demand to switch to by-district elections 

The city of San Luis Obispo received another attorney's letter demanding that it establish City Council districts or face a lawsuit, just weeks after it had successfully resolved the same legal threat from a different source.

Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman submitted the Feb. 17 letter on behalf of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the "oldest Latino voter registration nonprofit" in the country, according to its website.

click to enlarge

• File Photo By Peter Johnson
• UNDER THREAT The city of SLO faces another demand to change to by-district elections.

The letter alleged that SLO's at-large election model violates the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) because it dilutes the influence of Latino voters in elections.

"Latinos comprise 19 percent of the city's population of approximately 47,400. Yet, the city's governing board has been nearly or completely devoid of Latinos," Shenkman's letter read. "Many nearby and overlapping jurisdictions have recognized this problem and adopted district-based elections to comply with the CVRA."

Shenkman went on to "urge the city to voluntarily change its at-large system of electing its City Council" or face a lawsuit.

City Attorney Christine Dietrick told New Times that she had not yet discussed the letter with the City Council behind closed doors. But SLO is no stranger to the accusation or threat.

In 2019, a Santa Barbara attorney made the same demand on behalf of the California Voting Rights Act Project. After more than three years, the city reached a settlement in January that allowed it to keep its at-large model and avoid litigation, while paying about $17,000 in attorney fees.

Dietrick reiterated the city's position on March 1 that local voter data does not support moving to by-district elections as a way to increase Latino voter influence in the city.

"I don't dismiss the demand lightly by any stretch, but again, if you're relying on the data, the data just simply does not support the conclusion that there's polarization or dilution under the CVRA," Dietrick said.

Shenkman's letter references the 2020 city election—and City Council candidate Abrianna Torres, in particular—as an example of Latino voter dilution.

"Torres received significant support from Latino voters, but lost her bid for a seat on the City Council. This election evidences vote dilution, which is directly attributable to the city's unlawful at-large election system," the letter asserts.

Dietrick responded to that by saying the city already analyzed Torres' bid for council during its previous negotiations with Goodman.

"Having analyzed that data, we don't agree with [Shenkman's] conclusion," she said.

Shenkman is also no stranger to CVRA fights. He recently filed a lawsuit against the city of Cypress after it rejected his demand to change election models. In 2012, Shenkman won a CVRA case against the city of Palmdale, and he's also involved in the ongoing election model showdown in Santa Monica, a case that's currently before the California Supreme Court. He did not return a New Times phone call before press time.

"We're certainly open to talking with him," Dietrick said. "Our goal remains to advance access and participation in our voting system, and we want to be taking steps to further that objective." Δ