FARGEY LAW PC

7 WEST FIGUEROA STREET, SUITE 300
SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA 931 01
(805) 755 4277 (O) I (503) 342 8332 (F)

July 3, 2019

By Certified Mail
Ms. Bonnie Bush, City Clerk

City of Santa Cruz
809 Center Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Re: Notice of Violation of California Voting Rights Act
Dear Ms. Bush:

On behalf of Travis Roderick, a member of a protected class and a registered voter in the
City of Santa Cruz, this letter and the enclosed report are to assert that the City of Santa Cruz's
method of conducting elections may violate the California Voting Rights Act (the 

Pursuant to California law, the Santa Cruz City Council now has 45 days from receipt of
this letter to adopt a resolution outlining its intention to transition from at?large to district
elections, specifying the detailed steps it will take to facilitate this transition, and estimating the
time?frame for this transition. If the City Council does not adopt a resolution to this effect within
45 days from the receipt of this letter, then a legal action will be commenced in California State
Court (Santa Cruz County) to require the City of Santa Cruz to institute district elections
pursuant to the CVRA.

District elections are sweeping California, as described in the enclosed reportcolleagues are aware, no government agency in California has successfully defended a
complaint alleging violation of the CVRA. Accordingly, we recommend a collaborative
settlement with the City of Santa Cruz that would cap costs and enable more participation by the
City Council in the transition to district elections than would be the case through a court action.

As described in Chapter 5 of the enclosed report, advantages of a settlement agreement
could include deferring implementation of district elections until the November 2022 election.
This approach has proved successful in other government jurisdictions.

A difficulty of requiring district elections in November 2020 that other entities have
identified is that doing so would require the time and expense of two districting processes in two
years one for November 2020 (using 2010 census data), and a new process for November 2022
after the decennial 2020 census. Some jurisdictions have asked for a process whereby these
costs in time and money could be incurred only once through commencement of district elections
in 2022 through an amicable settlement.

In either case whether the City would seek implementation through a settlement
agreement of district elections in November 2020 or in November 2022 reimbursement costs

Ms. Bush
City of Santa Cruz
Page 2 of 2

are capped at $30,000, adjusted for in?ation, if this is resolved before the expiration of the
statutory period. It may also be possible to institute an at?large elected Mayor as a result of a
settlement agreement. Please see the conditional settlement agreement reached in the City of
Carpinteria included as Exhibit in the enclosed report for additional information.

As you are aware, a number of other government jurisdictions in Santa Cruz county and
elsewhere in the state have decided to institute district elections. We believe the City of Santa
Cruz will be an even better and more representative city with district elections and in
unassailable compliance with state law.

Thank you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,

 

Micah D. Fargey
micah@fargeylaw.com

cc: Martin Bernal, City Manager
Mayor Martino Watkins
Vice Mayor Justin Cummings
Councilmember Sandy Brown
Councilmember Drew Glover
Councilmember Chris Krohn
Councilmember Matthews
Councilmember Donna Meyers
Anthony P. Condotti, City Attorney

Enclosures