Orange County Line
Is It Time, Anaheim?
Gustavo Arellano on efforts in his hometown to make city council elections by districts instead of at-large.
By Gustavo Arellano • • 3m ListenLast summer, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Anaheim charging that the city's at-large council elections excluded Latinos from electing their own and asked the courts to create voting by district. The Democratic Party of Orange County just endorsed an eight-district proposal, while the Republican-dominated city council has largely mocked the idea. What's so scary about district elections — and why is the ACLU lawsuit not as heroic as it may seem?