Measure for Electing by District Is on Ballot

A measure calling for district-only elections in San Diego City Council races was officially placed on the November ballot Wednesday by an openly reluctant City Council.

Council members, most of whom favor keeping the current citywide method of electing local representatives, had no choice but to place the proposed charter revision on the ballot, since sponsors of the measure submitted petitions last month bearing a projected 49,724 valid signatures--9,500 more than required to qualify for a spot on the ballot.

But that didn’t stop some council members from bad-mouthing the district-only measure, which is the sixth of its kind to be brought before San Diego voters during the past 18 years. Each time, the voters have turned thumbs-down on the proposed change.

“I’m sure, as the voters repeatedly said ‘no’ to this archaic concept, they will continue to do so,” said Councilman Ed Struiksma, adding that the district-only election scheme has divided the City of Los Angeles’ into political “fiefdoms.”

Ward Politics of East

Referring to the ward politics of Eastern cities, Struiksma warned that “pork-barreling and the politicking that goes on will only be exacerbated by adopting this” for San Diego.

Only Councilman Bob Filner stuck up for district elections.

“I’ll be campaigning for this initiative,” he said, adding that a district-only system would produce a more responsive City Council and cheaper elections.

The city now employs district-only elections in the September primaries for each council seat. The field of candidates is narrowed to the top two vote-getters in the district-only vote, no matter how lopsided the tally.

Two months later, those top candidates face a citywide vote to determine the winner. Sometimes, the candidate with the fewer district-only votes wins the seat in the citywide election.

Such was the case when Filner ran against Councilwoman Gloria McColl for the District 3 spot in 1983. Filner received 6,579 votes to McColl’s 5,184 during the September primary. But Filner was defeated in the general election, when he received 75,736 votes to McColl’s 82,120.

That kind of twist, say some critics of the citywide vote, has virtually guaranteed that minorities--especially Hispanics--will not win a council seat outright unless first appointed to fill a vacancy.

The Cost of Running

Critics also claim that citywide votes have escalated the cost of running for local office to the point that council hopefuls are at the mercy of well-heeled special interest groups, such as developers, for campaign contributions.

Changing over to the district-only method would be “a fair election system, and it certainly will make council members more accountable to the neighborhoods,” said Ruth Deumler, a spokeswoman for Neighborhoods for District Elections, the group sponsoring the November measure.

Deumler said district-only elections would stimulate voter turnout because more people would “feel involved,” and it would help change the direction of City Council business.

“Environmentally, there are lots of things the council should be working on, and they would be more active in our community if there were district-only elections,” said Deumler.

“Growth isn’t the only issue,” she said. “We have air quality and a polluted bay. These things would be worked on harder if there were district elections.”

She said the group will now turn its attention to organizing neighborhood campaigns on behalf of the measure. The strategy, said Deumler, is to allow each neighborhood organization to pick the people and approach to pushing the district-only charter amendment.

“Each neighborhood is going to have different reasons for district elections,” said Deumler. “In some areas, finding housing and jobs are the most important issues. In other areas, it is minority representation. And, in other areas, it is growth and air quality.”

Deumler said that Jeanne Lipton, who resigned from Mayor Maureen O’Connor’s staff July 8, has been hired by the group to coordinate the November campaign. Lipton worked on protocol for O’Connor, arranging the mayor’s receptions and luncheons for international guests.

O’Connor has gone on record opposing district-only elections.

The last time San Diego voters were asked to approve district-only elections was 1981, when they narrowly defeated the measure.

In February, unsuccessful council candidate Michael Aguirre filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to overturn the citywide electoral scheme based on civil-rights considerations. The lawsuit has been stayed, pending the outcome of the November vote.

Aguirre filed the suit after he lost to Filner last year in a hotly contested race for the District 8 spot. Aguirre came in behind Filner in both the district-only primary vote and the citywide general election.