Wards have been proven to better represent diverse populations in urban areas. For this reason, cities all over the country are moving back to ward-based elections.
"Cities all over the United States have been removing at-large seats from their city councils – not adding them. Over 250 cities recently eliminated at-large seats from their councils, making this one of the most commonly proposed and approved changes to the structure of local government nationwide."
source: Municipal Year Book (2004). International City/County Management Association (ICMA), Washington, D.C.
At-large systems dilute the minority vote. This has been proven time and again in study after study, making it one of the most verified generalizations in the field of political science.
The conclusion that at-large elections dilute minority representation is extremely well-supported by cross-sectional and longitudinal studies performed over the last 35 years, and published in peer-reviewed journals in political and social science.
source: Engstrom, Richard and Michael McDonald. 1986. “The Effect of At-Large Versus District Elections on Racial Representation in U.S. Municipalities.” In Electoral Laws and Their Political Consequences. Bernard Grofman and Arend Lijphart eds. New York: Agathon Press.
In recent decades, many towns and cities have switched back to the more representative and accountable ward-based forms of government. When San Francisco switched to district-based elections in 1976, the local government instantly elected the first Chinese-American in city history, the first avowed women's rights advocate in city history, the first black woman in city history, and the first openly gay man ever elected in California.
source: The Times of Harvey Milk (film)
Before 1900, most urban areas used wards to elect their local government. This brought government closer to the people and enfranchised minorities, particularly new immigrant groups like Irish-Americans and Italian-Americans. During the early 20th century, cities across the country including New Brunswick began to replace ward systems with at-large elections. The primary reason for this change in most cities and towns was to limit or remove the influence of minority groups and allow a simple majority to rule local governments unilaterally. Of course, populations and society have changed, so the minority groups that are disenfranchised today because of the at-large system are primarily African-Americans and Latinos.
Wards empower minorities, regardless of which group is a minority. Lead, Mississippi, a majority-African-American town responded to complaints by whites who said they were not being fairly represented by creating a ward system with a majority-white district in a new ward system. Before this move, the five aldermen were elected at-large to represent the town’s 1,515 people, which left the town’s 450 white residents out-voted and underrepresented.
Keep in mind that, as demographics change, no one can be sure which groups will be considered the majority or the minorities in New Brunswick's future. A ward system will guarantee that all groups have a voice in how our government is run.
We all know that elections cost a lot of money. The need for candidates to raise thousands of dollars takes away from their capacity to meet their constituents face-to-face and talk about what really matters to our city. It also puts them in a position where they can be more easily influenced by special interests once they are elected. In a six-ward system, ward candidates will only have to spend one-sixth the amount of money and knock on one-sixth the number of doors to seek office. Not only will this enable average residents without vast personal wealth to seek seats on the Council, but it will make the elections more about who has the best ideas and less about who has the most money.
While a candidate for a ward seat can knock on every door in their ward, it would be impossible for an at-large candidate to knock on every door in the city. This forces at-large candidates to replace personal contact with media saturation.
As such, they engage in one-way communication, broadcasting their ideas out to the people, hoping voters find their sound bites more appealing than the other candidates’ sound bites. In contrast, a ward candidate continuously engages in two-way communication with the voters. Every time they knock on a door they hear the concerns of their neighbors, and it is in their best interests as a candidate to remember and respond to those concerns.
The concept of local government is that local decisions are made by normal people that understand the concerns of people like them. In comparison, at-large elections produce council representatives that are out of touch with those they represent, and obligated to special interests.
Wards will bring residents closer to their government, something we very much need to do in New Brunswick. By making it easier to run for public office, it will engage more citizens and make people more involved in the workings of their city.
By expanding the Council and electing members at the ward level, every resident will be guaranteed at least one Council person will live in their ward, perhaps more. This will make it easier for residents to have their concerns and suggestions heard and acted on. It will also produce a Council that is of diverse backgrounds with diverse opinions. Under the current at-large system, New Brunswick City Council goes years without ever disagreeing on an issue.
source: City Clerk's Office
The ward-based elections will also make those members of the Council accountable to their neighbors. This will require that Councilpeople be well-known in their neighborhood and visibly working on the problems of the neighborhoods. Each ward-based Council seat will represent approximately 8,000 residents, making it easy for the ward to express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their ward representative each election.
New Brunswick has over 30 distinctly unique neighborhoods and at least a dozen different mid-rise and high-rise apartment complexes. Each of these neighborhoods and apartments has their own unique residents with their own unique problems, needs, and issues. It is important that representatives who understand and know first-hand the issues that matter to their ward be empowered to craft solutions to neighborhood problems in cooperation with their fellow residents. A ward system will do that.
There are several neighborhoods in New Brunswick that are home to the wealthiest and most powerful in the city (Dewey Heights, Rutgers Village, Edgebrooke, and Buccleuch Park). These neighborhoods are where the vast majority of decisionmakers in the city government live. As a result, these neighborhoods enjoy exceptional treatment from the city departments, agencies, public schools, and their elected officials. Essentially, these neighborhoods receive the careful attention that all neighborhoods would receive under a ward system.
We do not wish to take away the positive gains all of our neighborhoods have made over the past several decades, what we wish that every neighborhood could receive the special attention that the more affluent neighborhoods in New Brunswick enjoy. Simply put, we want for our families what the families of these exceptional neighborhoods enjoy.
The following is a small portion of the municipalities that elect their Council based on wards. As you can see, wards are a popular choice for towns and cities similar in size to New Brunswick.
Old Bridge 65,661
Six wards, three at-large |
Franklin 60,273
Five wards, four at-large |
Bayonne 61,842
Three wards, two at-large |
Irvington 58,024
Four wards, three at-large |
Wayne 54,849
Six wards, three at-large |
Piscataway 52,658
Four wards, three at-large |
Plainfield 47,353
Four wards, 2 superwards, one at-large |
Bloomfield 45,372
Three wards, three at-large |
Berkeley 42,577
Four wards, three at-large |
Atlantic City 39,958
Six wards, three at-large |
Linden 39,874
Ten wards, one at-large |
Hoboken 39,853
Six wards, three at-large |
| |
-------------------------------------
New Brunswick 50,172
TO BE DECIDED NOVEMBER 3
------------------------------------- |
|
Source: Rutgers Center for Government Services
Just months ago, a federal judge ordered Irving, Texas to change its system of elections to enfranchise the city's sizable, yet underrepresented Latino population. This is only the most recent in a long line of court cases and petition drives to make local governments more representative and more responsive.
source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124847141935480015.html
Below are several other court cases where courts mandated local governments change their system of electing representatives to ensure all groups get a seat at the table:
Landmark U.S. Supreme Court case White v. Regester (1973) – The court has held that the at-large system is not unconstitutional per se but may be so if it operates to limit minority access to the electoral process or, in other words, dilutes or minimizes their vote.
U.S. Supreme Court case Herbert Collins et. Al. versus City of Norfolk (1989) – found in favor of Collin, in a 9—0 vote, and the ward system was returned to Norfolk, Virginia, with members elected from 5 wards and 2 superwards.
Springfield, Illinois (1987) – African Americans filed a minority vote dilution lawsuit. As a result, the city eliminated its at-large system in favor of a ward system.
Danville, Illinois (1987) – a lawsuit against minority dilution was brought against the city. The city settled the lawsuit by eliminating at-large and adopting a ward-based system.
|
