What are the alternatives to Santa Clara’s council seat method, approved by the voters forty five years ago that led to the election of our current Hispanic Mayor? The commitment to increasing voter participation championed by Yuki Ikhezi and Rod Diridon,Jr. has worked, and if the method of requiring candidates to live in specific geographic areas but being elected citywide as done in the school district could work. Milpitas, Sunnyvale, and Cupertino have elected many Asian Americans to councils using systems identical to Santa Clara. Troubling are campaign methods done by the Santa Clara POA paying outside consultants that emphasize racial overtones, and podcasters who claim Asian American politicians all have the same faces (and he is a Charter Review Committee member). Appointing good minority council members in 2016 rather than a stooge would have solved the problem. We have alternatives that fit the Santa Clara way, best look at them.
