Districting
Retrieved May 10, 2024 at 9:31 p.m.
There is no clear evidence one way or the other.
Districts greatly reduce the cost of campaigning and increase articulation/demands of the needs of each district, but also diminish responsiveness to the needs of the city as a whole, and encourages log-rolling of Council members looking to cut a deal for their district by supporting some deal for other districts for four votes at the cost of those left out.
This seems unlikely in Hayward given our strong propensity to be nice to each other, support vague priorities, and let staff do the specifics. We cooperate for consensus much more than we scheme to cut deals, which quickly gets just too complicated. The collegial reality is just the opposite of how most people think about politics.
City-wide has the advantage of candidates running for the city as a whole, but with more networking and campaign funds required. In a low participation city like Hayward, the networks of city-interested people are fairly small, and it is still possible to go door to door for frequent voters.
One way to balance is to have city-wide districts for one council member and mayor and 5 district reps. A district rep is likely to want to step up to city-wide as a basis for running for mayor in Hayward’s line-up-and wait system.