So far, the City Council majority is resisting the calls for district-based elections, instead opting for a structure where council members would live within districts but still be elected at-large.
Activists say this doesn’t address the real issue of true representation for the Latino community of Anaheim.
After months of community meetings, the Anaheim Citizens Advisory Committee had recommended that the city place district-based elections on the ballot for voters to decide.
The controversy comes amid a lawsuit from ACLU and Latino activists claiming that the city’s at-large elections violate the California Voting Rights Act.
The Council majority, meanwhile, defends the at-large system by pointing to non-white members who have been elected to past councils.
This week also marked the one-year anniversary of rioting in downtown Anaheim after the policy shooting of an unarmed Latino man.
The segment aired this week on PBS SoCaL’s “Real Orange.” Click the video above to see the full report.