Napa City Council passes citywide governance policy as Luros and Alessio take up district-based council seats | #citycouncil

But the council also passed a resolution on Tuesday to affirm the intent of all council members to govern the city in its entirety, on an at-large basis, regardless of where each lives. 

Under district elections, the city of Napa was split into four roughly population-equal voting zones. Council candidates must reside in a zone connected to a particular council seat to run for it and be voted on by the residents of that area, as a result of the new system. 

The district-based election process replaced the city’s previous at-large voting system, which involved every resident voting for every open council seat. (The mayoral position is still voted on at-large.)

The move to affirm citywide governance comes in response to a commonly-expressed potential downside of district-based elections, that they essentially inspire district-based, as opposed to citywide, governance. 

The resolution has no effect on the district-based voting process. Prospective council members will continue to be voted on by only the residents of their own district.

The resolution stems from council workshops early this year, where councilmembers discussed the benefits of at-large governance, according to a city press release. Those benefits include “inclusive customer service, well-balanced allocation of taxpayer resources and overall consistency in city services,” the press release says. 

“The City Council’s commitment to citywide governance will benefit the community as a whole,” said Mayor Scott Sedgley in the press release. “Together, the City Council and staff are dedicated to a decision-making process that will provide accessible resources and maintain excellent quality of life for all of our residents.”

Like many California cities, Napa’s switch to district elections happened because the city received a demand letter alleging the at-large elections violated the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 by diluting the vote of Napa’s Latino population. Had the city not swiftly acted to establish the new process, a lawsuit to force the switch would have likely been filed. And almost no municipalities in California have successfully defended against a CVRA lawsuit.

Liz Habkirk, assistant city manager, noted at the meeting that the resolution will be incorporated into the materials that are prepared for city council candidates and it will be made available during the onboarding process of new councilmembers. 

Councilmember Luros said it was great to have the resolution in writing and that it was a very important step for future councils. Alessio also thanked city staff for bringing the resolution forward. 

“This is really very important to the health of our council, whether it be our current council or future councils,” Alessio said.