220418 0947 Fwd_ Districting voteFrom:Katie Shapiro
To:Frances Marquez
Subject:Fwd: Districting vote
Date:Monday, April 18, 2022 9:46:37 AM
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Katie Shapiro <katieshapiro36@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Apr 17, 2022, 3:33 PM
Subject: Districting vote
To: <pmorales@cypressca.org>, <adm@cypressca.org>, <fgalante@awattorneys.com>
To whom this is concerned,
Last Monday evening I handed our city clerk a formal letter to give to the city attorney stating
the following:
Dear Cypress City Council,
I am requesting that the discussion and vote that led to the City Council's March 14, 2022
decision to not voluntarily transition to District elections be agendized again only this time as
an open and public agenda item rather than a closed session item. It is evident from the March
21, 2022 letter that the City Attorney sent to Kevin Shenkman related to the alleged violation
of the California Voting Rights Act that this is a discussion that very easily and most
appropriately should have been held as part of an open and public meeting. The Brown Act
makes it very clear the single exception to conducting a closed door session is if there’s
pending litigation. The districting vote is entirely separate from the lawsuit the city faces, and
thus should have been conducted in a public forum. Because the purpose of the closed session
exception is to confer with legal counsel, the vote on districting itself should have been public.
The City Attorney is not the City Council and believe that I and all Cypress residents have a
right to hear this discussion in an open and public session so the residents can hear this from
our elected representatives. While I wasn't privy to the discussions in the numerous closed
sessions that were held regarding this issue over the last few months, the letter from the City
Attorney brings into question why any of these discussions should have been held in closed
session but it is clear to me and many residents listening tonight that the vote itself should
have been public. What is clear to me is that the session held on March 14 should have been
an open and public agenda item.
Please agendize this item as an open and public agenda item for the April 25, 2022 City
Council meeting.
I look forward to hearing this open and public discussion and the open and public vote by the
City Council.
Thank you,
Katie Shapiro
It is unclear to me, as it was not discussed at the end of the meeting, whether this will be
placed on next Monday's agenda.
Please let me know.
Katie