The way Cypress voters choose who represents them on the council dais will change this year.
The city is moving to a by-district election system, where voters will choose only one councilmember who lives in their district every four years, commencing with the November 2024 election.
The City Council approved the change during a contentious special meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 10, following years of rebuffing efforts to transition to by-district elections, which ultimately resulted in a lawsuit against the city.
The city will hold five public hearings through March where residents can participate in the drawing of maps that break up the city into five districts, said city attorney Fred Galante.
“The recommended agreement gives the city the ability to work with the community to establish the boundaries of the five districts rather than have a court dictate the districts,” Galante said.
The last public hearing would be on March 11, and the City Council would then adopt the ordinance officially changing its election system.
Cypress now has an at-large election system, where voters decide on all five council seats, and has resisted legal efforts to change even as a growing number of Orange County cities have made the switch in recent years.
In September 2021, Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman sent Cypress officials a letter warning of a lawsuit if the city did not voluntarily switch to by-district elections. After the city rejected the letter, Shenkman filed a lawsuit on behalf of the voting rights group Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and residents Kathryn Shapiro and Malini Nagpal, who routinely speak at City Council meetings.
The lawsuit alleges that racially polarized voting occurs in Cypress elections and an at-large system impairs the ability of Asian Americans in Cypress to elect candidates of their choice. Although 37% of Cypress’ 50,000 residents are Asian American, Shenkman said in 2021, the city has not had an Asian…
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