California: Monterey College considering single-member districts for trustees
The Monterey County Herald reports: Trustees of Monterey Peninsula College will revisit the issue of district elections in January after hearing Wednesday from supporters of new trustee districts.
Board members heard from local representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who stood steadfastly behind dividing the district into five trustee areas.
One ACLU representative sent information on the trustee districts to the group's national demographer, who works on the Voting Rights Project in Atlanta. The ACLU demographer concluded that five areas would be best for the college district.
Board president Jim Tunney expressed concern that the trustees don't have enough information to determine what format would work best.
In a controversial move, trustees voted in July to switch to one trustee area in Seaside and the other four to at-large seats from the rest of the district. They rescinded their decision Nov. 4 because they said it caused confusion in the community and they want what's best for the district. -- Monterey County Herald | 11/30/2006 | Board delays trustee decision