Stick with the status quo

Sometimes the best option just doesn’t make it to the table.

Such is the case in the debate about city council districts in

Huntington Beach. Voters in March will have the choice between a

five-council district system, with its members elected by only the

voters in a particular district, or the status quo in the form of the

present seven-member, citywide election process.

Given these options, voters’ best bet would be to go with the

status quo. Plainly put: Reducing the number of council members from

seven to five is not a move that will benefit Surf City. It is

illogical to think it will increase representation, as its author,

Scott Baugh, proclaims. Five people clearly can’t give the same

personal attention to 200,000 people that seven can. (Think of it as

the difference between a representative and a senator.)

At the same time, dividing the city up into districts isn’t the

horrible idea its detractors claim. Direct representation works

pretty well for Congress, for instance. Overall -- with a few clear

exceptions in the past regarding race or gender -- Congressional

representation is largely fair and equitable.

Not that a mini-Congress is the way to go in Huntington Beach.The

best plan for the city: a seven-member council, divided into

districts but still elected at large. It is a political system that

has served neighboring Newport Beach well, one that ensures

representation for all parts of town while still demanding that

would-be council members appeal successfully to voters citywide. It

is the best of both political worlds. City leaders, if they truly

mean to serve their constituents best, would do well to rethink

avoiding this plan.

In the meantime, however, the decision at hand remains. And that

decision should be an easy one for voters. Keep the election process

as it is.

Then, after voting in March, perhaps residents can contact one of

the City Council members and ask them to rethink switching to a

seven-member, district-divided council.