The Yucca Valley Town Council held a special meeting last night at which it discussed adopting a new district map for the November election. Managing editor Tami Roleff says the council heard from an attorney who specializes in the Voting Rights Act who soothed any fears the council may have had about choosing a map that includes a jog to separate two council members who live just streets apart…
Marguerite Leoni, an attorney who specializes in the Voting Rights Act, reassured the Yucca Valley Town Council last night that dividing the town into districts that preserve the seats of incumbents was legal and acceptable. “Your community elected you and this process is not intended to put you out of office. I have represented many, many jurisdictions involved in the same process that you are, and I must tell you that the vast majority of them take incumbency into consideration and don’t unnecessarily foster contests between them. Who sits on the dais is the choice of the voters, not the choice of somebody who is drawing lines.” She also said there was no law that commercial districts should be treated differently than any other element in town, such as schools, or parks. And finally, she said California law requires only that a candidate be a resident for 30 days; requiring a year-long residency in a district in order to run for office is unconstitutional. And despite public comment from residents who were unhappy about the Sky Harbor neighborhood being split into two districts, the Yucca Valley Town Council voted 5-0 to accept the district map known as Yellow. In other business, the council selected Mayor Pro Tem Robert Lombardo to serve on the Anti-Bullying Task Force.
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