Five months before its next elections, the city of Española has recognized it is legally obligated to redraw the boundaries of its voting districts due to population shifts within the city.
But if the city does not complete this task by the time Española voters cast ballots for four City Council seats in March 2012, the city could find itself facing an elections lawsuit that, once again, raises questions over the validity of its democratic process.
Calls to Albuqeurque-based consulting firm Research and Polling, which helped the city redistrict in 2007, were not returned. That process took roughly a year spanning from a 2006 opinion from the state attorney general’s office calling on the city to redistrict to the Council’s approval of new districts in October 2007, according to previous Rio Grande SUN reports.
The city has been reluctant to look at the issue of redistricting so far in 2011 largely because of the 2007 process, which Mayor Alice Lucero has insisted should cover the city through the 2010 federal Census, which showed the city’s population officially topped 10,000.
But after months of delay, city attorney Frank Coppler broke the news to the City Council Oct. 25 that the latest state Census data, released in March, shows at least one of the city’s four voting districts deviates from the state-mandated 5 percent rule.
State law requires municipalities to divide and equalize their voting districts, or at least consider doing so, every 10 years, and ensure each district’s population deviates no more than 5 percent from an “ideal population” figure to guarantee the equal protection principle of “one voice, one vote.” This rule applies regardless of a city’s total population.
Based on the Census data, the ideal population of each voting district would be 2,556 people. That figure is determined by dividing the entire population of the city, 10,224, by the city’s four voting districts.
City ordinance also states each voting district “shall contain as nearly as possible substantially the same population based upon the most recent federal census” and all voting district boundaries “shall be reviewed and revised, if necessary, following each decennial federal census.”
Census data from 2010 shows the city’s population overall grew by 5.5 percent to reach 10,224. One precinct within city limits grew by 30.4 percent over the last decade and another grew by 16 percent. Both are in the southeast quadrant of the city. Another precinct fell in population by 13 percent.
Coppler said while he hasn’t been able to get Research and Polling to determine the exact figures yet, he was able to preliminarily crunch some numbers which he said showed that at least one of the city’s districts deviated more than 5 percent from the ideal population.
But Lucero again resisted, saying the process could get pricey, as a “full-blown” redistricting process could cost the city upward of $100,000. She asked City Manager James Lujan if he would be able to find a company to do it for under $25,000.
Lujan said he would begin gathering quotes from different companies to determine the most reasonable price and present them at the Council’s next workshop meeting Nov. 14.
But District 2 Councilor Helen Kain-Salazar, who said she does not plan to run to keep her seat in 2012, warned against hasty redistricting. She said she doesn’t want the city to rush the process.
“We need to take it slowly and get it done right,” she said.
Kain-Salazar said she doesn’t want the city to get into the same litigation mess as the state legislature with its statewide redistricting proposals.
District 1 Councilor Dennis Tim Salazar refused to comment on why the city waited so long to take up the issue beyond saying the city will be discussing it further at a public meeting. His seat is up for re-election in 2012.
District 3 Councilor Chayo Garcia, who also said she doesn’t plan to seek re-election, said the city didn’t address the issue sooner because it was hammering out other issues, such as cutting the city’s operating budget by $300,000. When asked about Lucero’s proposal to try to spend $25,000 on a process that could cost over $100,000, Garcia said that’s all the city can afford.
“We can’t afford it, but we need to get it done,” she said.
Lucero did not return calls for this story.
Coppler also advised Lucero and the Council that the process could be pushed off to the future because the laws regarding redistricting don’t set forth specific deadlines.
“You do not have to redistrict until after the (2012) election,” he said.
Coppler added that the city doesn’t need to worry about any lawsuits being filed against the city in the meantime because citizens have to circulate a petition if they want to see the city redistrict, which is true according to statute.
But state Municipal League general counsel Randy Van Vleck said the city would violate the federally mandated equal protection principle if it held an election with unequal populations in its voting districts. Van Vleck said if the election were challenged, it could be determined invalid.
Former city councilor and mayoral contender Alfred Herrera said the city’s handling of redistricting raises a big question mark.
“To my way of thinking, the redistricting issue should have been discussed way before the Census data was completed,” he said. “That’s careful planning, leadership to figure all that out.”
Herrera said the Council was merely scratching the surface.
“It sounded (like) initially, not the Council, but the mayor I guess was really the one that came up with this idea that, no, we don’t need to redistrict, but then obviously, as time went on, additional discussion took place and now it’s a little bit different,” Herrera said. “And it really just comes down to poor planning — poor leadership.”
Shrink the Council?
District 1 Councilor Pedro Valdez is also pushing to shrink the size of the governing body from eight to four.
State statute allows municipalities of over 10,000 people to drop from two-member districts to single-member districts if voters approve such a change.
Valdez said the Council would be more effective and efficient if there were fewer voices and opinions on the governing body.
Kain-Salazar said she’d like to see six councilors which would require dividing the city into six, rather than four, voting districts.
“Eight is too many for our community,” Kain-Salazar said. “But I don’t think that four is enough.”
But she said it’s up to the voters to decide what they want.
“As elected officials, we can’t just go with want we want,” Kain-Salazar said. “We have to go with what the voters want.”
She said any decision made would not go into effect until the 2014 elections.
District 4 Councilor Cory Lewis refused to comment for this story. District 3 Councilor Cecilia Lujan and District 2 Councilor Greg Ortega did not return calls for comment. (Ortega has not returned a call for comment since November 2010.)