Folsom City Council under fire as accusations of gerrymandering arise over re-districting map modifications

Under questions of gerrymandering, Folsom City Council decided to hold a special public meeting next week to review a controversial map that the council worked on Tuesday for state-mandated redistricting. The Folsom City Charter currently allows council members to be elected "at large" to represent all citizens throughout the city. Under the at-large method, Folsom residents vote for council members regardless of where they live in the city. Under pressure from the state, the city is now transitioning into a by-district election, whereby council members are elected by voters within each council member's district. The process to transition to by-district election requires five public hearings where the community is invited to provide input for future City Council districts. The first two public hearings Sept. 14 and Oct. 12 of last year were required before any map of district boundaries for the proposed voting districts were drawn. The council reviewed proposed maps at the third public hearing on Jan. 11 and identified eight focus maps. At the fourth public hearing Tuesday, Folsom City Council further reviewed focus maps, received public comment, identified a preferred map and decided on election sequencing. The City Council will adopt a final district map at the fifth public hearing in February. After the council "tweaked" one preferred map for more than an hour Tuesday with consultant Doug Yoakum, the council received criticism over the procedure, specifically one point when Council Member YK Chalamcherla's street was reportedly transferred from one proposed district to another. "Is that not gerrymandering?" asked Cheryl Davis of Empire Ranch during the remote "Zoom" meeting. Folsom resident and attorney Scott Rafferty accused the council of legal transgressions throughout the meeting in the drawing the map. "This is an attack on California democracy," said Rafferty. At the urging of former Folsom city attorney Bruce Cline, the council decided to convene a special public meeting next Tuesday, Feb.. 15 at 1 p.m. to receive more public input on the proposed districts. City Council will also set an election sequence so council member terms remain staggered under the City Charter. That means three council members will be elected for a four-year term in 2022 and two council members will be elected for a four-year term in 2024. The council tentatively chose "odds and evens," or districts 1,3 and 5 for 2022, and districts 2 and 4 for 2024. All current council members will serve out their four-year terms. At the fifth public hearing scheduled for Feb. 22, the council is scheduled to adopt a final district map and introduce an ordinance to complete the transition process. The public is encouraged to provide input via emails to attydept@folsom.ca.us. Input can also be dropped off at City Hall. The City Council is the final decision-making body on adopting district boundaries. The Folsom Telegraph welcomes reader input letters on local issues, visit the online submission section here to share your thoughts and viewpoints with readers.