Anaheim’s Eastman: Let me have cake, and eat it too.

Anaheim City Council Member Gail Eastman (Photo: Chris Prevatt)
Anaheim City Council Member Gail Eastman (Photo: Chris Prevatt)

It looks like Anaheim’s anti-minority representation cabal on the city council wants to take another bite of the council districts cake. Councilwoman Gail Eastman has added to the agenda for tonight’s meeting another discussion about placing district level voting for council seats on the ballot for voter approval. This appears to be a case of having one’s cake, and eating it too.

Voice of OC reported Monday, “Eastman had previously joined a majority vote that rejected the district elections model, instead opting to put before voters a system in which candidates would have to live in the districts they represent but would still be elected at large. But now it appears there might be another vote on the issue after Eastman said she needed additional “brain time” to review documents related to the lawsuit.”

If the council were to now add an additional question to the June 2014 ballot to set districts where only the district residents vote for their council representatives, the council majority will succeed in confusing the voters on which plan will deliver district level voting. This would set up two conflicting initiatives that could both pass. If both pass, then the charter amendment that passes with the highest number of votes, prevails. With this scenario, all the opponents of district level districts need to do is heavily push for the weaker option in the higher propensity voting areas where non-minority voters reside, and push voting for both in the minority areas claiming; “If you want districts in Anaheim, vote for both, just to be sure.”

Jordan Brandman
Jordan Brandman

But there is another motive likely at play here, by placing this matter back before the council it allows Council member Jordan Brandman to claim that he helped put district-level voting on the ballot, living up to his commitment to Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, and Los Amigos of Orange County, that he would fight for district-level voting for council seats.

The only way that Brandman and Eastman can truly claim to be supportive of district-level voting is if they also vote to remove the previously approved option of at-large voting for district seats. The meeting is tonight, we wait with breathless anticipation to see what these two do.

In the meantime; Let them eat cake.

Keep-Calm-and-Let-Them-Eat-Cake

1 Comment

  1. What did they do? Told the people of Anaheim “Up Yours” that is what they did. Monster levels of arrogance. First they voted to put their Santa Ana model on the ballot, even after Tait pointed out that they were offering the At Large system we have now or the At Large system they are offering, which really is no choice at all. Oh and by the way it is not really a Charter change and therefore voting on it is superfluous because it can simply be done by Ordinance. But they voted 3-2, Tait and Brandman against. Then they put the REAL Districts up, and while Tait challenged them to explain why they would not allow voters to actually have a say in how we will be governed, they arrogantly voted…surprise! 3-2, Brandman and Tait voting for Districts.

    All I have to say is, what are they so afraid of? Perhaps they DO get it, perhaps they understand that they are so incredibly detested in some areas of the city that no way in Hell will entire neighborhoods keep them at this point, so they are forced to keep those neighborhoods from bring heard in any significant or meaningful way.

    Here’s a thought, for the Council majority to consider. Try trusting the people of Anaheim to have enough sense to keep good people who are doing a good job and allow is the right to vote, and then try thinking for yourselves and considering the good of all Anaheim, and become the leaders we don’t want to get rid of.

    I find it ironic that our freedom to choose our own government has been crushed as I listen to illegal fireworks going off outside, at least I HOPE those are “only” M80s scaring my dog….Happy Independence Day.

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