Merced picks committee for districts, asks community to stay involved

The Merced City Council approved a list of people on Monday who were recommended for a committee to draw up districts for local elections.

With a 6-1 vote, the council approved the top seven people recommended by the Merced County League of Women Voters. Councilman Michael Belluomini cast the only “no” vote, saying he wanted to swap out one person on the list for an alternate.

The league reviewed 39 applications submitted by hopefuls. President Mary Hofmann said the league picked the seven applicants because they best fit the requirements agreed upon by the council and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit that spurred the move to districts.

“We had a pretty tight list of requirements,” she said.

The applications asked the hopefuls about their education, their work experience and where they live, among other questions. The members of the committee will be required to sign a statement that says they do not plan to run for City Council in the next two election cycles.

Hofmann said the league attempted to make sure the committee represents all parts of the city, as well as the ethnic diversity of Merced.

Councilman Mike Murphy said the council and the civil rights group agreed to ask the league to screen the applicants, so he thought it best to approve their top recommendations.

“For me to intervene in that process is not something I want to do,” he said. “That’s why I voted for it.”

Under the new district voting system, the mayoral seat will continue to be elected by voters citywide, but the six council seats will be picked by voters in their respective districts.

Advocates for district elections have argued that the change should give better representation to south Merced, an area of town some consider neglected. All six sitting councilmen in Merced live north of Bear Creek.

According to the applications, the committee members are all registered voters who have lived in the city for varying lengths of time, from less than three years to more than 52 years.

The applications did not ask for each person’s gender, but did ask about ethnicity. One each marked the categories of black; Asian or Pacific Islander; white; and other. Two marked the Hispanic category, and one committee member marked the white and Hispanic boxes.

City Manager John Bramble said those who did not make the approved list should not be discouraged and can participate in the committee meetings, which are open to the public.

Councilman Josh Pedrozo said he hopes all of the applicants will come to the meetings and be involved in the process.

“They’re not on the committee but, just like the rest of the community is welcome, they (can) participate as well,” he said.

The committee is expected to meet two or three times a month. The plan calls for a design for districts by November, according to city records.

The committee is made up of Merced residents See Lee, Miguel Lopez, Theresa McIntire, Carl Pollard, Kelly Roseman, Shane Smith and Maria Vega.

This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Merced picks committee for districts, asks community to stay involved."