The Desert Hot Springs City Council has approved Draft Map #1.1, which would divide the region into four election districts to vote on council seats, with final adoption of the district map scheduled for April 19, the Desert Sun reports.
Desert Hot Springs’ approval of this map for elections according to district is a step toward transitioning from the current system where citywide voters select new councilmembers.
“This is a difficult process. I still truly believe that it’s too soon … we’re really moving really fast. I don’t think we’re giving the residents a full in-depth analysis of all the voting, of all the statistics,” City Councilmember Roger Nuñez, the lone dissenting vote, said in the Desert Sun.
According to the same article, the next City Council election is set for November and will be the first chance to see the new district system in action with votes on the seats for Districts 1 and 3.
Council members weeded through five map variations proposing district boundaries before deciding on Draft Map #1.1, with a 4-1 vote on April 5. If the measure is adopted on April 19, residents will no longer vote for the city as a whole, but only cast their vote for councilmembers from their assigned district, the Desert Sun reports.
