If you live within the proposed boundaries of San Diego’s new 9th City Council District, don’t worry. City Attorney Jan Goldsmith has said you won’t have to wait a year to get representation on the City Council.
Last week I wrote about confusion stemming from new City Council district boundaries that the San Diego Redistricting Commission is poised to adopt later this month. The changes include the addition of a new 9th District in mid-city.
But because language in the City Charter says the boundaries go into effect 30 days after they’re adopted, some city officials, including Council President Tony Young, believed that suddenly residents of the new 9th District would be left with no council member until they elect one next year.
Today Goldsmith said that’s not how it will work. In a memo, he said the boundaries become final 30 days after they’re adopted. But for the purposes of representation, he said, they shouldn’t actually go into effect until the new council member is elected and then inaugurated in December of next year.
“To change the boundaries for representation purposes before the next election cycle would create havoc,” he wrote.
Instead, the eight existing councilmembers should continue representing their districts the way they look today, Goldsmith said. On Dec. 3, 2012 — inauguration day — the newly elected representative for the 9th District will take over for his or her district, and the other eight councilmembers will begin representing their newly configured districts.
Adrian Florido is a reporter for voiceofsandiego.org. He covers San Diego’s neighborhoods. What should he write about next?
Contact him directly at adrian.florido@voiceofsandiego.org or at 619.325.0528 and follow him on Twitter: twitter.com/adrianflorido.