Posted by Lynne Bramlett
a resident of Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park
on Nov 27, 2017 at 1:47 pm
Lynne Bramlett is a registered user.

I have just sent City Council (city.council@menlopark.org) the below email. Whatever your opinions on this important topic, please let Council know them. I would like to see Council first focus on selecting an Independent Redistricting Commission and to postpone any decision on the charter city idea until the Independent Redistricting Commission has been selected and their work started. Please also attend the Wed, Nov 29 Council meeting on the topic. (Also See Jen Wolosin and Pam Jones'editorial in the Town Square section.)
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Dear Mayor and Council,

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.

Lynne Bramlett

Posted by Jen Wolosin
a resident of Menlo Park: South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks
on Nov 27, 2017 at 2:53 pm

Thank you, The Almanac, for covering this important issue. As Pam Jones and I state in our posting on the Town Square (Web Link an Independent Re/districting Commission would hold Menlo Park to the highest ethical standards. Please join us in encouraging City Council to pursue an independent process as it modifies its electoral process.

Please note that Pam and I 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