Little Glendora considers splitting into districts
Glendora is not the only city that has considered districts. But its population is smaller than most of the other cities that have considered it, Dan Abendschein reports.
Ballot measure seeks to divide city into districts
By Dan Abendschein, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/08/2008 11:17:46 PM PST
GLENDORA - If a proposed ballot measure to split the city into districts eventually succeeds, it will be the fourth in the San Gabriel Valley to abolish citywide council elections.
Pasadena, Pomona and Bradbury all have districts. Glendora's plan would divide the city into five districts of equal population, similar to Pasadena's seven districts, and Pomona's six. Right now, the plan has just been submitted to the city, and it is not yet certain when or if it will get on the ballot.
Individual districts come with their benefit: local campaigns can be cheaper to run, and council members are likely to be more attentive to local neighborhoods. But it also comes with downsides, experts say.
"People's concern about districts is that a council member becomes too focused on their own district and not on the entire city," said Doug Johnson, a politics fellow at the Rose Institute, and a consultant for a research firm that has helped cities draw up districting plans.
That could particularly be a problem with Glendora, which has a population of about 50,000, and will have districts of around 10,000 people, many of whom might not be registered voters.
Most cities with districts have population at least 150,000 people, Johnson said.
It really makes no difference, because the rules in the end are going to be made by those with the most money who can bribe the most politicians. It is quite obvious that those in the lower income area cannot afford to bribe that many, so their concerns do not mean a damn thing. Those in the better areas even experienced this by the bribes that developers obviously used, to get a building permit for a multi-level structure. Politicians consider the ballot box only to jockey for the position, beyond that, it is a joke.
I dont see or understand the advantage of dividing the community into districts represented by someone only representing their council district.
I'm not saying this has to happen, but if elected to the council the normal question would be "who do I represent" the people electing me or the rest of our community.
I want someone accountable to all of the voters making decisions for the benifit of the majority.