With a notable dearth of acrimony and a striking abundance of congratulatory goodwill, the Santa Barbara City Council put the finishing touches on the new voting districts by which city voters will now elect their councilmembers. The vote was six-to-one with Dale Francisco — resisting entreaties by fellow conservative Frank Hotchkiss to make it unanimous — casting the lone vote against.
This action all but brings to a close the lawsuit initiated last November alleging that Santa Barbara’s voting results — obtained via at-large elections — qualified as “racially polarized” under the California Voting Rights Act. In the past 45 years, only four Latinos have been elected to the City Council. City Hall was eager to settle; no government entity has yet to successfully defend itself against such allegations; the cost of protracted legal battle elsewhere has exceeded $3.2 million.
Find a high-resolution version of the map here .
