Moorpark voting pattern probe continues
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com
The U.S. Department of Justice is still investigating Moorpark's voting patterns to determine if the existing atlarge citywide election procedures violate the voting rights of minorities who are mainly concentrated in the downtown area.

The department's Voting Section is responsible for enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, among other tasks.

Representatives from Washington, D.C. have been analyzing local voting records for more than two years to find out why candidates either living in the downtown area or supported by voters there have not been elected to the City Council in recent years.

Since at-large elections can present an unconstitutional dilution of minority vote strength, the department may compel the city to adopt an election system based on council districts to safeguard voting rights of all citizens.

These investigations have led to lawsuits forcing other cities to establish district voting systems, said Hugh Riley, assistant city manager for Moorpark.

Moorpark could be carved into four voting districts with one district containing a majority of eligible Hispanic voters, said Clint Harper, a former council member.

If the change was implemented, council members Roseann Mikos and Janice Parvin, who live in the Campus Canyon area, would vie for the same seat. Keith Millhouse and Mark Van Dam do not live in the same region so they would not be impacted in the same way.

It is not clear whether such a change would affect the mayor's position. If it did, the city could have five separate districts.

Moorpark has been under scrutiny to ensure that minorities are represented adequately on the City Council, boards, commissions and committees, said David Rodriguez, vice president for the League of United Latin American Citizens, Far West Region.

"There's a feeling that the city of Moorpark is run by one neighborhood," said Rodriguez, indicating his organization is also looking at city employment records and evaluating how city funds are spent.

LULAC has been working with the Justice Department in recent weeks to help investigators make a qualified decision as to whether it's better to divide the city into districts.

Rodriguez said LULAC would join the Department of Justice if it files a lawsuit against the city to change the voting system. The district voting system provides direct representation for all residents, he said.

"Cities usually fight like heck to hold on to the at-large system, so the Justice Department may have to sue the city to implement a district system if it's needed," said Rodriguez.

"There should be districts, there's no question about it," said Dale Whitaker, who owns a hardware store on High Street. "This part of town has no representation, and we get none of the public works and parks money," he said.

City officials, however, believe the current system is fair to all residents.

"I think it's a dumb idea. Districts would be the stupidest thing that anybody can do in the city, pitting different sections of town against each other," said Millhouse, who is up for reelection in 2008.

Every City Council member is accountable to all citizens, he said.

People from outside should not come and dictate how the city should run, said Millhouse, insisting that Moorpark is a safe community that has good parks and city services, unlike Washington, D.C.

"The city of Moorpark conducts its elections using the standard at-large method of election, consistent with the California Government and Elections Codes," said Mayor Patrick Hunter.

The city is cooperating with the investigation as it pertains to the use of that standard election method. Hunter said Moorpark has always conducted fair and impartial elections, and residents are encouraged to register and to vote in all elections.

"We have nothing to hide," said Parvin, adding that the council has had Hispanic representation previously and current council members look out for the well-being of the entire community.

Parvin said people can't compare the downtown area with newer planned residential neighborhoods such as Mountain Meadows along Tierra Rejada Road because they were not constructed at the same time.

Residents in newer developments outside of the downtown area pay extra assessments for parks and street maintenance. The assessments were imposed on homeowners as a result of development agreements between the city and the builders.

City officials are working to provide similar amenities in the downtown areas, they said. The Moorpark Redevelopment Agency was created to help pay for improvements in the older part of town without extra costs to residents, said Harper.

Creating districts that represent the interests of all residents in Moorpark may be complicated by geography and demographics.

"They (the Department of Justice) admitted districts would have to be gerrymandered," said Harper, meaning election district boundaries would be drawn to give certain groups a significant advantage.

Harper initially did not support splitting the city into districts due to concerns about possible City Council infighting, but he's changed his mind. He said that having a downtown representative could have prevented the misunderstanding that occurred when the redevelopment agency tried to regain eminent domain authority to revitalize the area.

Residents who were wrongly persuaded by other community members that the agency was going to take their homes might have been better informed if they had been represented by someone who lived in the same part of town, he said.

"I really think we do need a downtown representative, but we won't get one with the current electoral system," said Harper.

Erik Ablin, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, said the investigation is ongoing, but gave no further comment.