FRHD chooses an election map

FALLBROOK – Fallbrook Regional Health District has announced approval of their zone-based election map. The California Voting Rights Act passed in 2001 had been suspended and was reinstated in 2012. The goal of this act is to provide protected class groups with equal opportunity for representation in the election process.

Latinos are the most common protected class group in our area. In 2016, cities and special districts began to be challenged to make the transition from at-large to zone-based elections. FRHD made the decision to be proactive and save money by moving forward with this prior to being notified by a private law firm which would force the action.

A total of seven open forums took place from January through June at special meetings of the board of directors and the public was invited to ask questions and provide input. National Demographics Corporation helped to facilitate the process, discussing the rules at each meeting and eventually provided four maps for consideration.

North County Fire Protection District also assisted FRHD in the mapping process and provided maps for consideration. Eventually three of the maps were presented for final consideration.

At the special meeting, June 19, the three final maps were considered. They had been made available to the public on the district website and posted for the public. Following discussion among the community members present and the district board members, the board voted to approve the "Yellow" map and approved Resolution No. 428 establishing and implementing zone-based elections.

Moving forward, the election of 2020 will include candidates from Zones 2 and 4 on the approved map, and every four years thereafter. The election of 2022 will include candidates from zones 1, 3 and 5, and every four years thereafter. The district appreciates those members of the public who participated in this process.

Submitted by Fallbrook Regional Health District.