City of San Leandro Resolves to Transition to District Elections for City Council in Response to DHKL Demand Letter

January 6, 2025

On November 19, 2024, DHKL sent a letter to the City of San Leandro (“City”) putting the City on notice that its at-large method of electing City Councilmembers violates the California Voting Rights Act (“CVRA”) and has diluted the voting power of Asian American voters.  A copy of the notice letter can be found here.

Asian Americans are approximately 35.9% of the residents in the City of San Leandro.  In the last 12 years of San Leandro elections, many Asian American candidates for City Council have run and lost – only a couple have eked out narrow wins.  The pattern is clear: Asian American candidates are usually defeated in at-large elections.

At-large elections can be an obstacle for diverse candidates running for and winning elected office because the cost of campaigning in at-large elections is much higher than district-based elections.  In district elections, candidates knock on fewer doors and spend less on campaign mailers.  District elections are therefore more accessible to candidates whose donor and voting bases are less connected to wealth and other resources.  The CVRA was passed by the California Legislature in 2001 to restrict the use of at-large election systems where they unfairly dilute the votes of a minority group.  Over almost 25 years, the CVRA has been an effective tool to improve the ability of minority voters throughout California to elect their preferred candidate and influence the outcome of elections, and has encouraged more minority candidates to run for elected office.

On January 6, 2025, the San Leandro City Council passed a resolution declaring the City’s intent to transition from at-large elections to district-based elections pursuant to Elections Code section 10010, which gave the City a 45-day “safe harbor” period during which the Elections Code prohibits a CVRA lawsuit against the City from being filed.  The parties later agreed to a 90-day extension of the “safe harbor” period to allow the City to conduct public outreach and receive public input about the City’s transition to district-based elections.  The City has agreed to vote, by July 5, 2025, on an ordinance transitioning the City to district-based elections for its next City Council elections in November 2026.

DHKL is a leader in CVRA litigation.  In 2023, Asian Law Alliance honored DHKL as a Legal Impact Honoree for our work representing Asian American voters in CVRA cases, noting the firm’s success in Yumori-Kaku v. City of Santa Clara, No. 59 Cal. App. 5th 385 (2020) (affirming the trial court’s decision finding Santa Clara’s election system violated the CVRA as to Asian American voters).  In 2014, the firm received the ACLU SoCal’s Voting Rights Award in recognition of the firm’s success in representing Latine residents in the City of Anaheim.  DHKL also served as appellate counsel on behalf of the plaintiffs in Pico Neighborhood Association v. City of Santa Monica, 15 Cal. 5th 292 (2023), in which the California Supreme Court confirmed the voter-protective purpose of the CVRA, and Jauregui v. City of Palmdale, 226 Cal. App. 4th 781 (2014) (affirming preliminary injunction against the certification of results under the City of Palmdale’s at-large elections).

Partners Laura Ho and Ginger Grimes represent Robert Bulatao against the City of San Leandro.