Oakland's redistricting Commission will be on the November ballot as Measure DD in 2014.

Attached is the approved version of the ballot measure language and charter amendment necessary to implement such a commission.

For a less legalese version of what this commission plan will do , how it will operate and how it will be formed, the final version of the plan is included below as produced by the working group that included Councilmembers Kalb and Schaaf, Oakland Rising, The League of Women Voters of Oakland, Urban Strategies Council and with guidance from the Irvine Foundation and Greenlining Institute.  This language is not the official charter amendment language but is the human language plan that was used to craft the formal measure.

Also, you can learn more about this measure on ballotpedia.

Learn more about other 2014 ballot measures.

Redistricting Requirements:

  • The resolution Requires that Oakland's District lines be drawn and approved by an independent commission of 13 individuals "reflective of the geographic, racial, ethnic and economic diversity of the City of Oakland".

  • The criteria  listed below must be followed the Commission to ensure compliance with all applicable laws:

  1. Districts shall comply with the United States Constitution. Each council and school district shall have reasonably equal population with other districts, except where deviation is required to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act or permitted by law.

  2. Districts shall comply with the federal Voting Rights Act, commencing at 42 U.S.C. Section 1971, the California Voting Rights Act, commencing at Section 14025 of the Elections Code, and any other requirement of federal or state law.

  3. Districts shall be geographically contiguous.

  4. The geographic integrity of any local neighborhood or local community of interest shall be respected in a manner that minimizes their division to the extent possible without violating the requirements of any of the preceding subsections. A community of interest is a contiguous population that shares common social and economic interests that should be included within a single district for purposes of its effective and fair representation. Communities of interest shall not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates.

  5. To the extent practicable, district boundaries shall be drawn to encourage geographical compactness such that nearby areas of population are not bypassed for more distant populations.

  6. Districts may not be drawn for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against an incumbent or political candidate.

  7. The Commission may establish and consider additional criteria that comply with the above listed criteria and the requirements of federal and state law.

  • The Commission shall issue a report that explains the basis on which the Commission made its decisions in achieving compliance with the criteria listed above and shall include definitions of the terms and standards used in drawing the final plan.

Commission Selection Process:

  • No later than July 1, 2019, and in each year ending in the number zero (0) thereafter, the City Attorney shall draft regulations, subject to the City Council’s approval, that establish minimum standards for outreach efforts to recruit a robust pool of applicants, and to establish criteria for the selection of a screening panel, composed of one retired judge, one volunteer who shall be a student at a law school accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California, and three representatives of local 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. Members of the screening panel shall be subject to the same qualifications as the Commissioners.

  • No later than January 1, 2020, and in each year ending in the number zero (0) thereafter, the City Administrator or his or her designee shall recruit and select members for the selection panel based on criteria approved by the City Council as required by subdivision (J)(1).

  • The City Administrator or his or her designee shall do all of the following:

    • No later than January 1, 2020, and in each year ending in the number zero (0) thereafter, initiate and widely publicize an application process, open to all residents of Oakland who meet the requirements of subdivision (D)(1), in a manner that promotes a qualified Commissioner applicant pool that is large and reflective of the geographic, racial, ethnic and economic diversity of the City of Oakland. This process shall remain open until April 1, 2020 and in each year ending in the number zero (0) thereafter.

    • Create a reader-friendly application available electronically and in hard copies for prospective commissioners, and seek assistance from a broad range of community-based organizations in its outreach efforts.

    • Ensure that the pool has at least three qualified candidates from each existing City Council district.

    • Take all reasonable and necessary steps to ensure that the pool has the requisite numbers, diversity, and qualifications.

    • If the pool of eligible applicants is not sufficient as outlined in the requirements of subdivision (J)(3) after 6 weeks of recruitment efforts, the City Administrator shall make additional outreach to ensure that the pool meets these requirements.

    • The City Administrator or his or her designee shall remove from the Commissioner applicant pool any of the following:

      • A person with a conflict of interest, as defined in the Political Reform Act, commencing at Section 81000 of the Government Code.

      • A person who is, on the date of application, a paid employee of City of Oakland or serving on a City of Oakland commission.

      • A person who has been, within the five years immediately preceding the date of application a paid employee of any redistricting contractor or consultants.

      • A person who, or whose spouse, parent, child, or registered domestic partner, has been, within ten years immediately preceding the date of application, any of the following:

        • Elected to, or a candidate for, local office.

        • An employee, or paid consultant or contractor to a campaign for local office.

        • Registered or required to be registered as a local lobbyist.

        • A paid employee of, a consultant to, or under contract with any elected City of Oakland Official.

        • A principal officer of an active campaign committee domiciled in Alameda County that has made expenditure on local Oakland candidate elections.

        • A person who has contributed 50% or more of the allowable amount to candidates for City of Oakland elective office in the last city election.

  • No later than July 1, 2020, and in each year ending in the number zero (0) thereafter, the City of Oakland City Administrator shall review and remove individuals who are disqualified under subdivision (J)(5) from among the Commission applicants. The City Administrator shall then publicize the names of all member of the eligible applicant pool, which must contain at least 40 qualified candidates, including at least 3 applicants from each existing City Council district, by mid-July, 2020, and in each year ending in the number zero (0) thereafter, at the final July City Council meeting.

  • From the eligible applicant pool, the screening panel shall select through an open and public process the thirty applicants most qualified to perform the duties of the commission and who are reflective of the geographic, racial, ethnic and economic diversity of the City of Oakland, including at least two from each district.

  • The City Clerk shall randomly draw at a public meeting six names from the remaining pool of applicants. These six individuals shall serve on the Commission.

  • The six Commissioners shall review the remaining names in the pool of applicants and, from the remaining applicants in that pool, shall appoint seven applicants to the commission and two alternates. The appointed Commissioners and Alternates shall be selected in an open and public process and as the most qualified to perform the duties of the commission and reflective of the geographic, racial, ethnic and economic diversity of the City of Oakland, including at least one Commissioner from each district. The six Commissioners shall approve the additional Commissioners and alternates by at least four affirmative votes.

  • The City Attorney and City Planning staff shall train the Commissioners prior to beginning their work. The training shall cover the open meeting requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act and Oakland’s Sunshine Ordinance.

Public Engagement:

  • The Commission shall establish and implement an open hearing process for public input and deliberation that shall be subject to public notice and promoted through an extensive outreach program to solicit broad public participation in the redistricting public review process. The hearing process shall include hearings to receive public input before the Commission draws any maps and hearings following the drawing and display of any Commission maps. In addition, hearings shall be supplemented with other activities as appropriate to further increase opportunities for the public to observe and participate in the review process. The Commission shall display the maps for public comment in a manner designed to achieve the widest public access reasonably possible. Public comment and Commission meetings should include a variety of hours. Public comment shall be taken for at least 14 days from the date of public display of any map.
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