8/7/24: Geographic Wards in Westminster (Part 2)
Also visuals from National Night Out
If you missed it, see my previous newsletter:
Before we jump in: last Tuesday August 6 was the Annual National Night Out. I will be sprinkling in visuals from that evening throughout my Wards update below. It was a fun time! All photos are by my volunteer Dustin Doskocil - if you need a photographer and want his information, let me know!
Part 2: Geographic Wards in Westminster
A few weeks ago I published Part 1 of Westminster’s Wards journey: Geographic Wards in Westminster (Part 1). If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here is the TLDR:
For its entire history, Westminster, Colorado has had an all at-large City Council system where council members are elected by the entire voting population of the city rather than by districts or wards.
On November 7, 2023, 53% of the Westminster electorate voted Yes for the following ballot question: “Shall the Westminster City Council propose by 2026 a system of election some or all City Council members from geographic wards rather than at-large?”
Next, we formed a Wards Advisory Committee: Annie Miller (my appointee), Bev Bishop, Bill Christopher, Tom Jurgens, Anita Seitz, and Elyce Jarvis. They ended up recommending 3 options for ward structure
On July 22, 2024, Westminster City Council made a decision and chose the following option: Three Wards; Two Councillors from each Ward and one Mayor (at-large); and Seven total on City Council.
On August 5, 2024, Westminster City Council made more decisions that will help our staff draft proposed ballot language and develop a transition plan to the multi-ward system:
Ballot question wording: To simplify the language, I proposed the following ballot language and it was accepted by City Council:
“Shall the Westminster City Charter be amended to create three geographic wards, each represented by two City Councillors elected in staggered four-year terms, and establish rules for their election, service, and recall?”
Timing: We decided to begin Wards on the fastest timeline (i.e. begin Wards with the 2025 election):
Existing Councillors will serve out their full 4 year term
2025 election: People will elect 3 City Coucillors, one from each Ward, to serve out a 4 year term
2027 election: Another 3 City Councillors would get elected (one from each Ward) as the existing three Councillors’ terms fully expire
This will yield a simple handover and staggered terms
Term Limits: We decided that the office of a City Councillor in a Ward will be considered the same office as a City Councillor that was at-large. This means that the existing term limits apply: two 4-year terms with ability to run again after a 4-year gap in between. I am actually a proponent of instituting a hard-cap of 8 years with no ability to run again, but we’ll save that fight for another day!
Population deviation: We decided to have compact, contiguous wards with 10% deviation to allow for more flexibility when carving out the lines of the districts (our future final step). Basically, it helps avoid a situation where we have to split up a community of interest or neighborhood (we want to avoid this). 5% threshold is aspirational. For reference: Castle Rock and Golden use a 15% deviation; Fort Collins uses a 10%; Louisville and Fort Morgan specify a 5%.
Residency requirement: We decided that in order to run for City Council, an individual must have lived in their Ward for one year and if you move away then you must vacate your office.
Ongoing Maintenance of Wards design: We decided to update Wards design every ten years based on most recent national Census data, with potential to re-evaluate every 5 years. I made the comment that we should keep in mind that low-propensity voters (People of Color, low-income, elderly, disabled, young people, etc.) historically participate in fewer numbers in the Census so there is high risk of undercounting whole communities and making errors in re-balancing if we’re not careful. My main point was we need to avoid future risk of gerrymandering. It is impossible to fully prevent gerrymandering, but our Wards draft explicitly states that Wards will be drafted in accordance with all federal, state and local laws, including the federal Voting Rights Act. With all that said, litigation is the best path if gerrymandering ever happens with future councils.
Next Steps
A draft Ordinance will be brought to City Council next Monday August 12.
If the people approve the ballot question in November, this accelerated timeline for ward implementation means that we will need to approve maps in Spring 2025 so that we can send to the counties to import for the 2025 election.
Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Wards journey!
Yours in hope and service,
Obi
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