Palm Desert city leaders vote to transition to 5 districts, meeting voter demands

In a unanimous decision, the Palm Desert city council voted Thursday to transition to five voting districts. This move comes several months after voters approved Measure B, which advocated for the shift to five council districts instead of the existing two.

The path to this outcome has been marked by a contentious battle, with some council members stubbornly resisting the change. "I know it was hard for them," said Carlos Garcia, a community activist.

The city's adoption of the two-district system came in response to a 2019 lawsuit filed against Palm Desert for violating the California Voting Rights Act, which mandates fair representation for minority voting groups.

Under the current system, District 1 votes for a single representative, while the remaining 80 percent of the city elects four representatives.

"People said they want five districts, and even though they weren't happy about it, they held their nose and did it," Garcia said.

Despite 53 percent of voters supporting the transition to five districts in the November 2022 election, the council delayed the decision for months, as potential for lawsuits against the city lingered. "We've heard the threats, we're gonna sue, and I've heard it from myriad places," said Councilmember Jan Harnik. "It's a shame when we have to rush."

"They were complaining vigorously that they don't like being forced into it, and we should take our time. But they had seven months that they could have worked on this. So in a sense, some of that is their own fault," said Gregg Akkerman, vice chair of the civic engagement committee.

The city incurred significant costs due to the original lawsuit, including nearly $1 million in legal fees and a settlement.

With the transition to five districts, the aim is to achieve equal representation across the community, addressing the heavy concentration of elected leaders from a single part of the city.

"I want to see all five parts of town really represented, the north part of town as well as the east part of town, which also has no representation right now at all," Garcia said. "I really would just like it to be fair and balanced and geographically coherent."

In addition to the move to five districts, Palm Desert will also drop ranked-choice voting, also known as an instant runoff. Although initially deployed as part of the settlement to promote equitable voting, ranked-choice voting has often been regarded as confusing.

The city will adopt the new district map by early April next year, in preparation for the November 2024 election. Community outreach and public meetings will commence soon.