Bill Barnhardt is not wild about the idea of Manteca switching to district elections.
He believes it will create a situation where three-fourths of the council won’t have a political incentive to allow their ears to be bent by citizens outside of their districts on neighborhood specific issues.
That’s because four of the five people who will establish municipal priorities and policies could — assuming nothing derails the city’s districting effort now underway — will each only be elected by a quarter of the city’s voters. That would leave the mayor as the only person elected citywide.
When Barnhardt who lives in the Del Webb neighborhood brought his concerns up at the last council meeting, several current incumbents argued that regardless of how future council members are elected all residents will still have access to them.
They even went as far as implying Del Webb could end up with a representative on the council more focused not just on their neighborhood but the overall quadrant of Manteca where they reside.
Barnhardt’s concerns raised two issues.
Creating districts could potentially dilute the only grassroots community effort that has successfully stopped the city bureaucracy teamed up with developers from pushing projects they deemed detrimental to the quality of life not just once but twice.
The other issue is how much weight age-restricted communities will be given within Manteca given their fairly unique demographics that happens to include a class that is protected under a variety of federal and state laws — senior citizens.
Del Webb has 1,407 households of which most are engaged on a daily basis with neighbors through a wide array of activities at the community clubhouse. That means they can quickly mobilize when issues come up.
The biggest has involved targeting what had been a rudderless approach the city was applying to the location of truck intensive operations they were approving and their lack of access to truck routes. That led Del Webb residents to push back at what they perceived as a dangerous mixing of big rigs with neighborhoods.
And while they were primarily focused on northwest Manteca their efforts impacted other areas of the city. It can be argued their persistence backed up by their ability to collect 1,600 names and more on petitions when they want to make sure elected officials hear their concerns led to a truck route study being done, not allowing a 486-space commercial truck parking project proceed with carte blanche dumping of more trucks on Airport Way, and were able to prevent the city from glossing over a requirement they made as a condition of a project approval requiring an access road being built.
Del Webb could still play a significant role going forward influencing council decisions even with four members elected by district based on their ability to quickly organize and work with others throughout the community.
More than 2,400 age-
restricted Manteca households
That said the real challenge demographers hired by the city to create districts may face is how Manteca’s age-restricted communities should be treated.
There are eight in Manteca with more than 2,400 households. All are in the northern and eastern portions of the city relatively close to each other. Near Del Webb — the largest with 1,407 households — are Almond Terrace and Eskaton. East of Highway 99 or immediately adjacent to it are TruLiving Manteca, Cottage Village, Camellia Gardens, and El Rancho Mobile Home Park. The eighth — Magnolia Court — is in north Manteca behind the Bank of Stockton.
This raises some legitimate questions.
*Is it in Del Webb’s best interest to be kept whole or split into two council districts?
*Should an effort be made to create — or avoid creating — a district with a disproportionate number of age-restricted households?
*Is the social-economic dynamics of age-restricted communities something that should carry weight in the creation of districts?
*How big of a factor, if any, should the weighted age be in the creation of council districts?
Barnhardt, who is clearly not sold on the idea of going to district elections, holds a viewpoint that is contrary to senior municipal management.
The powers that be in the bureaucracy recommend such a move not for political reasons but to protect the city from lawsuits or being forced to scramble to form districts in a rapid manner as required by law if a formal complaint is made under the California Voting Right Law of 2001 regarding minority representation as opposed to federal voting right laws.
Legal challenges to such complaints have always ended with jurisdictions losing often after spending hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. That’s because the intent of the state law is for local jurisdictions from cities and school boards to irrigation districts to have representation where the voters in a defined area can only vote to elected the district’s specific representative who has reside in the district.
The closest Manteca came to having a complaint made was when Ben Cantu, who was running in 2016 for a council seat, broached the subject at a council meeting during the campaign. The council at the time instructed staff to explore going to district elections on the cheap by trying to see if they could work with students at the University of Pacific Business and Policy Research Center. That effort never advanced beyond talk of doing it.
During his successful campaign for mayor in 2018, moving to district council elections was one of the key points in Cantu’s platform.
Workshops & hearings
for community input
Manteca is inviting residents to participate in the district formation process to ensure district lines respect neighborhoods, history, and geographical elements. Community members are encouraged to participate in upcoming public hearings and workshops:
*Tuesday, Oct. 19, at 7:10 p.m. — Second Public Hearing
*Saturday, Oct. 23, at 2 p.m. —Second Community Workshop
*Saturday, Nov. 6, at 10 a.m. — Third Community Workshop (Virtual Only)
Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 7:10 p.m. — Third Public Hearing
*Tuesday, Dec.7, at 7:10 p.m. — Fourth Public Hearing
All meetings, except the Nov. 6 Virtual-Only Community Workshop, will take place in the Manteca City Council Chambers (1001 W Center St, Manteca, CA 95337) and via Zoom. Zoom Info for Public Hearings is as follows: Meeting ID: 826 7726 8640, Phone number: +1 669 900 6833. Zoom Info for Community Workshops is as follows: Webinar ID: 819 2041 7621, Passcode: 812083, Phone Number: +1 669 900 6833.
Instead of residents being limited to saying they support or oppose a city-prepared ordinance or resolution, they can draw a map themselves. Once mapping tools become available, residents can draw the borders of their neighborhood, a proposed Council district or sketch an entire citywide map of five council districts.
The first deadline for community members to submit their drawn district maps is Friday, Nov. 12, by 6 p.m. Maps submitted will be considered in the first draft maps publication presented at the Third Public Hearing on Tuesday, Nov. 23. The second deadline for community members to submit their proposed district maps is Tuesday, Nov. 23, by 6 p.m. Maps submitted will be considered in the second draft maps publication presented at the Fourth Public Hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
To help share information about the districting process and collect public feedback, the City of Manteca has launched a new dedicated district formation website: DistrictingManteca.org. The new website includes background information on the move to district elections, the schedule of upcoming meetings, and frequently asked questions.
