Wellstone Progressive Democrats of Sacramento is sponsoring a resolution calling on the Democratic Party of Sacramento County (DPSC) to support “by-district” elections for the San Juan Unified School District. The resolution – also sponsored by the Sacramento Latino Democratic Club, JFK Democratic Club of Sacramento County and Elk Grove-South County Democratic Club – will be voted on this Thursday, Feb. 11, at the DPSC’s monthly membership meeting starting at 6 p.m.
Text of the Resolution
WHEREAS, The California Democratic Party and Democratic Party of Sacramento County have called for the replacement of at-large local election methods with district-based elections (CDP 2018 Platform: Political Reform; DPSC Resolution 2017–21; and DPSC Resolution 2019-05), in furtherance of the Democratic Party’s commitment to upholding voting rights protected by the California Voting Rights Act and the federal Voting Rights Act; and
WHEREAS, The San Juan Unified Board of Education utilizes an at-large election system, which dilutes the power of neighborhoods to elect local representatives, unfairly protects well-resourced incumbents against challengers, and places a significant electoral obstacle before candidates and communities of interest that lack access to the money and resources needed to compete at-large, especially diverse and economically disadvantaged communities; and
WHEREAS, By-district elections allow neighborhoods and diverse communities to elect representatives of their choice, allow candidates to be viable without the need to fundraise prohibitively large sums of money, and better reflects the values of the Democratic Party than at-large election methods; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Democratic Party of Sacramento County declares its support for the ongoing effort to transition the San Juan Unified Board of Education from using at-large elections to by-district elections; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Democratic Party of Sacramento County encourages all residents of San Juan Unified School District to join in this effort to ensure that the San Juan Unified Board of Education can finally have a truly representative electoral system.
Wellstone Contact:
Joshua Cameron
(916) 538-0385
Our Revolution Sacramento 