Posted by Pamela Jones and Jen Wolosin

Pamela Jones is a 45-year resident of Menlo Park, member of Menlo Park Residents for Good Governance, former School Board Member of the Ravenswood City School District and a current Board Member of the Menlo Park Historical Association.

Jen Wolosin is a 5-year resident of Menlo Park, member of Menlo Park Residents for Good Governance, Founder and Chair of Parents for Safe Routes and a member of the City of Menlo Park’s Transportation Master Plan Oversight and Outreach Committee.

The authors, Pamela Jones and Jen Wolosin, are expressing the views of Menlo Park Residents for Good Governance, a newly formed group of civically-minded residents from all areas of the City, dedicated to fair representation and good governance. To join Menlo Park Residents for Good Governance, visit Web Link

I support an Independent Re/Districting Commission over an Advisory commission.
Please attend the public hearing Nov 29 at 7pm and show your support for and Independent Commission.

[Post removed; debate the ideas without attacking the people expressing their ideas.]

Known potential candidates for a Willows neighborhood/district could include:

Andrew Barnes (Planning Commissioner running for first term on Council)

Jen Wolosin (Community Volunteer running for first term on Council)

Chuck Bernstein (Fire Board Member, second time running for a first term on Council)

Kelly Fergusson (third time running for a third term on Council)

Kirsten Keith (running for a third term on Council)

The most important reason to have an independent commission is to prevent city representatives from drawing their own districts, a big conflict of interest. The California legislature for decades protected incumbents by drawing safe districts for current members until the power was transferred to an independent commission.

The downside is that the process slows down. Just deciding how this new commission will work and recruiting and vetting applicants will take months. Great care must be taken in selecting commission members. You need to prevent a large contingent of members coming from a particular special interest or to represent a single political party. For example, a developer may not have any financial contracts with Menlo Park, but will be seeking approval for many projects in the coming years.

Once members are chosen, commission members will need to be educated on the law and Menlo Park demographics. The commission will need to hire a demographer and possibly legal counsel. Once proposals are made, there needs to be ample time for public review and refining the maps. This process will take at least a year, which means we miss the 2018 election. 2020 would be the first time district elections could occur.

Of course, there's a census in 2020, which means the commission needs to be redistricted immediately afterwards. The second time around should be much easier since the first commission will have gone through the requisite growing pains.

Actually, Jen Wolosin lives in Seminary Oaks, in the same precenct as Andrew Barnes. If one of those candidates is making a series of poor choices, the other will easily be elected.

This law suit doesn't support any argument for crafting of anti incumbent districts. Asians are a protected class, white people are not. This committee should focus on helping protected classes.

I agree completely with the views expressed in Jen Wolosin and Pam Jones' editorial. I have just sent Council the below email which adds more reasons as to why I would like to see an Independent Redistricting Commission.

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On Wednesday, Nov 29, you will decide how Menlo Park goes about drawing district boundaries for the Nov 2018 election. I appreciate staff’s diligence and thoughtfulness in preparing their report on this topic early, so the public has adequate time to consider the matter.

After carefully reading staff’s report, and documents from multiple good governance organizations such as “California Local Redistricting Commissions: Landscape, Considerations and Best Practices,” I join with others who ask you to strengthen residents’ participation in our city by establishing an Independent Redistricting Commission for the purpose of drawing district boundaries.

The risk is small. Leading “good government” organizations recommend an Independent Redistricting Commission. Other cities and counties have successfully implemented this approach. In 2008, California overall placed redistricting in the hands of the people in the form of an Independent Citizen’s Commission charged with the important task of drawing new district boundaries throughout our state! The results were widely approved, and the approach now considered a model for others.

Your decision for an Independent Redistricting Commission would start the needed process of strengthening the public’s participation in our local governance. Unfortunately, the “balance of power” has shifted too far towards the City Manager and his staff. In our form of government, Council sets policy directions that the City manager (via his staff) is supposed to implement. However, not all Council directives are implemented. Some may be implemented so slowly it amounts to obstructionism. At public meetings, public input and requests for information have been taken and later ignored. What’s going on in our city has led to the threatened lawsuit because requested (and common-sense) improvements shouldn’t take years to achieve. While many staff members are responsive and hard-working public servants, some seem to have forgotten that they are here to serve the residents of Menlo Park.

Our current situation stems from inadequate staff accountability, oversight and transparency, and the lack of an overall strategic plan. Council cannot possibly oversee all this and fix all this. That’s why we need increased public participation in our local governance. Increased public involvement would lead to better decisions and better outcomes.

An advisory redistricting commission would perpetuate our current problem. This approach includes less public input and a less selective commissioner selection process. You might also have difficulty recruiting for an advisory only commission, due to resident concerns that their time and effort would be wasted as Council is free to ignore their recommendations. This approach would only further the metaphorical needle moving in the wrong direction.

Our existing Advisory Commissions illustrate the pitfalls inherent in an advisory only approach. Only the Planning Commission has any real authority. For the rest, staff and council are free to ignore their recommendations. Worse, some Commissions are advisory in name only. Commissioners may not be consulted on key decisions. Relevant information may not be supplied. Misinformation may be given. At least some are too staff directed. The public comes and speaks out, but little or nothing happens because the Advisory only commissions have no power. The advisory only commissions help marginalize the public and they inadequately improve our community. Longer-term, the role of MP’s advisory only Commissions needs examining and strengthening, and clear and specific expectations need to be developed for staff liaisons to them.

Please elevate the role of the public in Menlo Park by establishing an Independent Redistricting Commission.

Mitch, you raise some excellent points above; thank you for contributing constructively to the discussion. I don't agree however that the process will "take at least a year" for a couple of reasons.

The city of Menlo Park has already targeted a demographer that the commission can use. Both the city and commission will have access to the same data. The legal representation that brought the original lawsuit has thus far demonstrated a significant willingness to advise and educate the participants in the process and the law, so the commission, in effect, already has an advisory attorney. Additionally, the groups cited in the original letter, e.g. CFER, FairVote, etc. have significant knowledge of the law and have been working closely with citizens already.

When properly motivated, this city has shown an ability to mobilize. It's my belief that this issue has generated quite a bit of interest and thus, will not follow "the usual" course of ad nauseam and almost paralytic, back and forth. In other words, I believe that a valid and sound redistricting plan IS possible within the given timeframe.

There are legal remedies for ethics violations, this “Airing of Grievances” does not describe anything unethical.

Right.

And here's some more background:

Web Link

Stu

@Michael

If you want residents to trust the process, then every step needs to be open and deliberate. It will take time to research alternatives, weigh tradeoffs, and collect public comment every step of the way. At the end of this process, it's not the committee members that should have the confidence the maps are fair. It's the general public.

An independent commission that moves fast is ripe to be unduly influenced by outsiders with an interest in the outcome. If you believe that the committee be truly independent, then you don't set a predetermined time table. You let the committee decide how long it takes to complete its job. That's why it is "independent". If you let politicians dictate enough rules, then it is no longer independent. It merely exists to provide the aura of independence.

If you follow Washington, lobbyists love when Congress moves fast. Lobbyists see their influence on laws increase and oversight by representatives decrease. There just isn't enough time to vet every aspect.

The same thing can happen to an independent commission. If things move fast and they aren't allowed to slow things down so that they can ensure they truly understand and vet everything, then they are merely rubber stamping what legal counsel and the demographics consultant say.

And I really hope that we won't be using the plaintiff's lawyer as legal counsel. The plaintiff's lawyer is not looking out for the best interest of all Menlo Park residents. He merely represents one special interest looking out for themselves.

I support the ideas expressed by Pamela Jones and Jen Wolosin for Menlo Park Residents for Good Governance. We need district elections.