Dozens of map drafts submitted for Gilroy district election options

The City of Gilroy held its third public hearing on district based elections on April 7, where the city council reviewed and discussed draft maps submitted by the public more than a week earlier.

Extensive public input is designed into the city’s transition process to district-based city council elections, which will take effect for the first time in the 2026 and 2028 elections. Following a demand letter submitted by a law firm under the California Voting Rights Act, the city council on Feb. 24 unanimously voted to transition from at-large elections to district-based elections. 

Under a district-based election system, the city is divided into separate districts, each with one council member who lives in that district and is elected only by voters who live in that district. 

Under the at-large system under which Gilroy has always operated, every voter throughout Gilroy has the opportunity to vote for all city council seats that are on the ballot.

At the March 17 meeting, the seven-member council voted specifically to transition to a six-district system with a mayor who would still be elected at large, by all voters in Gilroy. The council’s other option was to approve a seven-district system, with the mayor designated from among the seven city council members on a rotating basis.

That vote was unanimous. Mayor Greg Bozzo said every member of the public who spoke or submitted comments on the council’s options had expressed preference for six district council members with an at-large mayor. 

“The mayor is somebody who can represent the whole city, lead the whole city, help set some priorities and goals for the city—and that’s a much easier job to complete when you’re not rotated out every year,” Bozzo said. 

The public participation process allows and encourages any Gilroy resident to create proposed maps depicting six new districts within the city limits, using an online tool created by the city’s demographics consultant, Redistricting Partners. 

The online tool, located at districtr.org/tag/Gilroy, helps users keep their proposed districts roughly equal in population (a requirement of state and federal election laws) with the use of a database of 2020 Census information for every tract or neighborhood of Gilroy. 

The public can also create hard copies of district draft maps, and mail to or drop off at the city clerk’s office at Gilroy City Hall, C/O City Clerk’s Office, 7351 Rosanna Street. The public can also create draft maps using their preferred online or paper medium and email those to di*********@ci**********.org. 

As of March 31, the public had submitted 24 district map proposals using the online tool. From these, Redistricting Partners selected three draft maps that represent common trends and themes among the public map makers. 

At the April 7 meeting, Liz Stitt of Redistricting Partners told the council that common trends among maps submitted so far include whether to keep the east side of Gilroy intact or divided north to south; and whether to use Hecker Pass Highway as a district border. 

The city should strive to keep “communities of interest” intact, Stitt said. 

“The east side is a community of interest and we want to keep communities of interest intact as much as possible,” she said. 

The city’s review of maps and public discussion will continue at the fourth public hearing at 7pm April 21 in council chambers, 7351 Rosanna St. A fifth public hearing is scheduled for 7pm May 5, also at council chambers. 

The council at the May 5 meeting is expected to approve a final district map from among those submitted by the public, consultant and city officials. 

The council could end up creating its own final district map based on elements of submitted drafts and input from the public and consultants, as long as the council’s choice complies with the CVRA. 

The council has 90 days from its Feb. 24 decision to approve a final district map. The completion of five public hearings on the transition is a required part of the public outreach process mandated by the CVRA. 

For more information about Gilroy City Council’s district elections transition process, visit the city’s website at cityofgilroy.org/districting.