211101 Submitted Public CommentsFrom:Alisha Farnell
To:Peter Grant; "Fred Galante"
Cc:Christina Dizol
Subject:Submitted Public Comments
Date:Monday, November 1, 2021 2:40:09 PM
Attachments:Submitted Public Comments.pdf
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Mayor and Council (via bcc),
We received the attached public comments for today’s Special City Council Meeting. You will
receive and file these comments as part of the agenda and they will be posted as part of the online
agenda packet.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Alisha Farnell City Clerk
City of Cypress
5275 Orange Ave Cypress CA 90630
714-229-6714afarnell@cypressca.org
From:George Pardon
To:City Clerk
Subject:Comments for today’s Council Meeting
Date:Monday, November 1, 2021 11:53:49 AM
Dear Cypress City Council
Since receiving the letter from the attorney claiming that the city has violated the California
Voting Rights Act, the City Council has held three regular meetings and one special meeting
that included the following item:
CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL - ANTICIPATED LITIGATION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(2)
Significant exposure to litigation - one potential case - Claim of California Voting Rights Act
violation from Southwest Voter Education Project
Today’s special meeting is your 5th Closed Session on this matter. To my knowledge, the
City Council hasn’t had any public discussion about this. The attorney’s letter set November 7
as the date for the city to move forward with voluntary compliance. When will the residents
be informed of your decision to either voluntarily comply or take the matter up in court and
risk millions in legal costs? I think the residents have a right to know.
While I think that at-large districts have some advantages, I think the actions over the last few
years by the City Council have demonstrated a need for voting districts. Putting racial
disparity aside, there are several examples of geographic disparity including the consideration
of a trash transfer station north of Lincoln and the lack of consideration of the residents living
near Lexington Park as just two such examples. One resident living in the Ovation Park
Senior Community posted the following on-line: ‘I am used to contacting the councilperson
from my district but with this arrangement it seems intended to keep residents at bay. It seems
they want to force you to address them at meetings only, which is only really just a joke.’
The City Council had a unique opportunity to address the absence of any representation on the
City Council of 35% of our population. The Cypress School District voluntarily converted to
voting districts without getting a letter from an attorney. I presume the city will have to pay
something to the law firm making this claim even if the city voluntarily complies. It is my
understanding that it could be up to $30,000 which doesn’t include any fees charged by the
city attorney for all the meetings that have been held. Having complied without an attorney
sending a letter, these are costs the school district avoided and instead invested them into our
children’s education, a much worthier cause.
Taking this matter to court could cost Cypress residents millions of dollars. The California
Voting Rights Act has been a law since 2002. It’s time that Cypress complied. My hope is
that these voting districts are in place in time for next November’s election.
Respectfully,
George Pardon
From:Ed
To:City Clerk
Cc:"Ed"
Subject:California Voting Rights Act closed session comment
Date:Monday, November 1, 2021 1:51:22 PM
City Council,
I am concerned that the city has not complied with the California Voting Rights
Act. We should be complying; we should have granular and specific
representation for the distinct areas of our city.
There has been a growing concern by the citizens that the council is out of
touch with the direction and needs of the community. The design of the new
Lexington facility would have been different if a broader representation were
allowed. More inventive strategies for RHNA compliance that fit in local
communities would have been brought forward if connected leadership were
in place. There have been several major recreational, residential, or industrial
installations that would impact one part of the city more than the others.
There is simply too much power and influence centered around an arbitrary
kernel of the city. We need to intentionally distribute this influence and
representation over the population. Localized districting would resolve a lot of
the imbalance.
Further, the council has been meeting in private on this districting California
Voting Rights Act issue and not vetting direction with the citizens they are
theoretically representing; how is that even possible? IF the council is
deliberating a legal battle with the state of California on this issue, they should
STOP now. We do NOT want an expensive legal battle over this; just comply.
Thank you,
Edwin Kraemer,
Concerned citizen and 20 year resident