As of now, city council members represent Tracy residents at large. However, if this districting goes through, it could split the city into four districts.
Quintanilla said that in light of the California Voting Rights Act, the city council had a special meeting in August to adopt a resolution of intent to transition into the by-district elections for city council members.
"Residents would be able to elect a candidate from their district to represent the interests of that district," Quintanilla said. "From the candidates' perspective, it would also be a change in that if they were not only running for office but also in representation, they would be representing a specific area, geographic area within the city, as opposed to the entire city at large."
Tuesday evening was the first of four public hearings for residents to ask questions about it and give feedback.
Quintanilla encourages the public to participate in this process, as she said that she and her staff have been out in the community to bring awareness to the new districting resolution.
The draft maps can be submitted to the city clerk's office or emailed to districting@cityoftracy.org. The deadline for the plans is November 25 at 6 p.m., so they can be presented at the third public hearing.
Because the resolution would be an ordinance, meaning it wouldn't be up for a vote, it stresses the importance of these public forums.
Robin Cole, who's been a Tracy resident since 1980 and Anita Ridolfi, who's lived in Tracy for more than 50 years, are good friends, yet they both disagree on this matter.
"I think it divides the town," Ridolfi said. "I don't want just one representative. I want the whole council to represent me. I think this is just bad. I mean, what if I don't like the guy that's representing me? And now I can't vote for anybody else. So, I think it's a bad idea."
"The numbers are not current, so we're not going to be represented correctly because the line would have to go down but right now, it's not. It's going to go up," English said. "And I serve on districting, so I know this is really wrong. I think, actually, it's illegal if we're going to go by doing it by the numbers they have right here."
The second public hearing is on November 18, the third is on December 11, and the fourth is on January 13. All of the public hearings are scheduled for 7 p.m. at Tracy City Hall.
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