LAwvr.Rs' COMMITTEE ron ni OF THE SAN BAYAREA I, sono or Cc--Ch?irs Pamela Y. Price George H. Brown June 2* 201 1 Immediaze Past Co-Chairs Santa Clara City Council Emcs 1500 Warburton Ave. BIICY Monty Agarwal Santa Clara, CA 95050 Harry B. Bremond Brian Brosmhan Rod Diridon, Jr. Iohn L. Burris Raymond A. Cardm Sgntaoglara City Clerk Charles S. Crompton 00 arburtcn Ave' Sarah G. Flanagan Santa Cl8l'8, CA 95050 joshua R. Floum Lupe C. Garcia Doom Hutchinson Dear City Council Members and City Clerk. Susan K. Iamison L- Kicvc On behalf of Latino and Asian citizens of Santa Clara, I am writing to advise you that the city's at-large election system for its City Council appears to Tm, M: violate the Califomia Voting Rights Act. Despite the significant percentage of VinoentA: Ruiz Asians and Latinos 1n the city, they enjoy no representation on the Council, and nt not one has been elected in over thirty years. Recent data confirm the existence of Room A Thompson vote dilution resulting from the at-large system. Consequently, we urge you to Mighag1A_ convert your at-large system to a district-based system, or other alternative system. Executive Director La fah me umn Please contact us at your earliest convenience expressing your commitment to remedy the effects of the discriminatory at--large system. lf we do not hear from you soon or you refuse to provide this commitment, we will be left with no choice but to pursue legal avenues. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Robert Rubin cc: Elizabeth H. Silver, Santa Clara City Attomey Jamie L. Matthews, Santa Clara Mayor 131 Suite 400 SanFrancisco,CA94l05 JUN 6 ZUH ret: 415.545}.9444 mx; 415.54.%.0296 E-MAIL: mfo@locr.com