Windsor considering town redistricting based on 2020 Census data

Windsor will begin a series of public meetings starting Monday on the possible redrawing of its town council districts based on new census data.

New U.S. census data from 2020 will show the most recently gathered numbers. State law requires that district boundaries be reviewed and adjusted as needed every 10 years after the census is completed. Each district must include about the same number of constituents.

The town’s population has only risen slightly in recent years according to the latest figures, from 26,801 in 2010 to 27,447 in 2019.

Windsor was forced to move from an all-city Town Council election to creating voting districts in 2019, after a Malibu lawyer sent a letter to town leaders claiming the current system was a violation of the California Voting Rights Act and threatened to sue. Kevin Shenkman of the law firm Shenkman and Hughes contended that Windsor’s at-large elections hampered the ability of the town’s minority voters to elect candidates of their choice.

After several public meetings, new districts were created using 2010 Census population figures, Town Manager Ken MacNab said.

“We knew in 2019 that we would have to revisit the district boundaries,” he said. “There is a law requiring that we look at certain criteria” in redrawing the lines.

At Monday’s meeting, starting at 6 p.m. at the Civic Center council chambers, city consultant Best, Best and Krieger will give an overview of the process and explain why it matters to residents.

According to the Windsor staff report, the specific criteria the town is required to use to redraw district lines are:

*They must be geographically contiguous districts, meaning each council member district should share a border with the next;

*Districts must maintain the geographic integrity of local neighborhoods or communities and should be drawn in a way that minimizes division;

*Districts must have easily identifiable boundaries that follow natural or artificial barriers like rivers, streets, highways and rail lines;

*Lines must be drawn to encourage geographic compactness. In addition, boundaries can’t be drawn to favor or discriminate against a political party.

“The districts can’t have octopus tentacles reaching out to grab certain areas,” MacNab said. “They have to be orderly changes.“

Still, state law requires cities and counties to engage the public in the redistricting process by holding public hearings or workshops and conducting public outreach, including to non-English-speaking neighborhoods.

After Windsor completes its analysis, and presents its recommended districts, MacNab said “there will be a point in the process where residents will be able to suggest boundary changes based on what they feel would be more representative districts.”

Redistricting determines which neighborhoods or “communities of interest” are grouped together into a district for purposes of electing a council member, according to the staff report.

“You have the opportunity to share with the council how you think the boundaries should be drawn to best represent your community,” the report said.

“The meetings are part of our dedicated outreach for redistricting,” said new Town Clerk Irene Camacho-Werby. “There will also be a PowerPoint presentation that will be posted.”

Communities of interest can be based on school attendance areas or shared demographic characteristics such as similar levels of income, education, languages spoken at home or single-family and multifamily housing unit areas.

At Monday’s meeting, consultants will present 2020 Census population data for Windsor, changes that have occurred since 2010, where the growth has been and “whether or not there needs to be a change to our current districts,” MacNab said.

Although town officials know where new housing has been built, for example, they don’t know how many people live in the homes, he said. They also don’t know if a couple that has lived in a house or apartment for 10 years has since had children. Demographics can change, and the census unearths that information.

Windsor Councilwoman Esther Lemus said she had just read some of the Census 2020 population figures for the county and Windsor. She noted that the Latino population countywide had increased from 25% to 29% from 2010 to 2020.

“That may have impacted Windsor,” she said. “Possibly we’ll find that out on Monday. I don’t anticipate great changes seeing the numbers that I’m seeing.”

Councilwoman Deb Fudge said the redistricting “isn’t that big of a deal because the population hasn’t moved or changed that much. We may have some small revisions to square off some lines to not have some neighbors in different districts.”

There will be a minimum of four public meetings, and the process must be completed by April 17. Maps will be prepared.

The next meeting will be on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m., also in council chambers.

You can reach Staff Writer Kathleen Coates at kathleen.coates@pressdemocrat.com.