Sunnyside moves ahead with voting reform plan

The city of Sunnyside on Thursday established a rough timeline for changing its election system to improve Latino representation on its City Council.

The change, to a hybrid system in which four council members are elected to represent specific districts and only three positions are at-large, is expected to be in place for the fall 2009 elections. Under the current system, all seven council positions are elected on an at-large basis, but a U.S. Department of Justice investigation more than a year ago found that the current system likely violates the Voter Rights Act by in effect keeping Latinos from being elected.

The council decided Thursday to host a large-scale public hearing on the plan in February, likely at a school gymnasium or some other off-site location. Prior to that, city staff will work to get as much information as possible to the community via mailings and other outreach.

"It's going to behoove us to get out as much information as possible (ahead of the public meeting)," Mayor Paul Garcia said.

Along with setting a timeline, the council also affirmed the redistricting map drawn up by Yakima County elections and geographic information systems staff. The four districts, which are based on existing county precincts, are roughly the same in population. One covers essentially the part of the city north of Yakima Valley Highway. Another covers essentially everything east of Sixth Avenue between Yakima Valley Highway and Lincoln Avenue. A third covers everything west of Sixth Avenue between Yakima Valley Highway and Lincoln Avenue. And a fourth covers basically everything south of Lincoln Avenue.

Using those boundaries, which match up with county election boundaries, insulates the city from accusations of gerrymandering or malapportionment, City Manager Eric Swansen said. He noted, though, that the precincts likely will change with new population information from the 2010 U.S. Census.

Though the precincts were drawn without consideration of race, as mandated by law, the decision last year to change the elections system stemmed from such consideration. A Whitman College student's report, published in 2006, found that the at-large system contributed to underrepresentation for Latinos, who comprise about 73 percent of the city's population, according to 2000 census data.

City Council members including Garcia, the lone Latino in the group, initially questioned the report's recommendation. But a subsequent Justice Department investigation ended with the federal agency advising the city that its system violated the Voting Rights Act. Under that pressure, the council voted last summer to make the change.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any choice but to go forward with it. ... I still feel and believe it will actually hinder participation rather than grow it," Councilman Bruce Epps said Thursday.