In a move that will shape Gilroy’s elections for years to come, the City Council has narrowed its choice to two final maps outlining potential districts that represent different visions of the city’s downtown and its predominantly-Latino East Side as it shifts towards district-based elections.
“It’s down to two maps. Now this is where we really get to engage with the public,” said Mayor Greg Bozzo at Monday’s meeting. “Please reach out to us, public. We want to hear from you. We want to talk to you.”
The council voted to begin the districting process in late February. The move came after Gilroy received a letter threatening legal action under the California Voting Rights Act if the city did not move to district-based elections, where residents in different sectors of a city vote for a single city councilmember to represent their district.
No city has won a lawsuit against districting under the state election law, and some, including Santa Clara, have had to pay out millions in legal fees after attempting to fight it.
Under the state voting law, the city can avoid those hefty legal fees by creating voting districts in a 90 day window — by May 27 for Gilroy. After pushing back their final decision, adding additional workshops, and receiving nearly forty proposed maps, the city council has narrowed down the potential districts to two final maps.
The maps represent two conceptions of Gilroy and two responses to the calls to keep the more Latino East Side of the city together. Connecting the East Side has been the central point of contention and the subject of widespread public comment over several months. It also fueled the initial threat of a lawsuit – which cited the different preferences of East Side Latino voters as a key motivation.
Many have argued for a unified East Side district, especially representatives from CARAS, a community organization which has advocated for Latino and low-income families across the city.
Draft D, one of the final two proposed maps in the Gilroy districting process. The map groups the entirety of the city’s East Side. (Courtesy: Redistricting Partners/City of Gilroy)Their vision is most clearly represented in Draft D — which distinctively keeps the entire East Side of Gilroy united, using Monterey Highway as its western boundary. Meanwhile, the city’s central corridor is split into three, with lines that keep the city’s downtown center largely intact.
Even so, others have argued that the East Side is far from a monolith, with variation between the different segments from the north to south, most vocally Councilmember Dion Bracco, a resident of the northern end of the East Side. Councilmember Terence Fugazzi also pointed out that voters towards the north of the East Side voted differently — with a higher preference for Latino candidates — in the last election than those in the far south. (Although the suggested map does not exactly align with the lines of last election’s precincts, complicating the comparison.)
“I think it’s a really good idea to have the two choices and get the time for the community to look at it,” said Fugazzi.
Draft F, one of the final two proposed maps in the Gilroy districting process. The map distinguishes the north and south of the city’s East Side. (Courtesy: Redistricting Partners/City of Gilroy)The other option, Draft F, splits the East Side in two, using a local Middle School as the dividing line. It also connects districts across Monterey Highway, while grouping downtown and neighborhoods immediately to the west into a central core district.
Notably, both maps treat the city’s west side similarly and have four majority-Latino districts, reflecting Gilroy’s majority-Latino population.
The final map will be selected at the May 19 city council meeting. At that meeting, the council will also decide which three districts will vote for new councilmembers in 2026 and which will vote in 2028.
More information on the districting process and a form to submit public comment are available at cityofgilroy.org/districting.
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