2013.02.21_Presentation_CityOfVista_COCMEMORANDUM
DATE: April 2, 2007
TO: Mayor and City Council
VIA: Rita L. Geldert, City Manager
FROM: Aly Zimmermann, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT: Final Report — Community Outreach Committee
Background
The creation of a Community Outreach Committee was based on recommendations from the Ad
Hoc Committee on Community Involvement, which was formed to proactively address the 2003
Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation of the City's voting patterns. The purpose of the DOJ
investigation was to determine if there existed a violation of Section 2 of the 1965 Federal Voting
Rights Act, which enforces the provisions of the 14 and 15 Amendments to the U.S.
Constitution, guaranteeing equal protection of the laws and the right to vote to all citizens of the
United States. A Section 2 violation can result if a statistical analysis of community voting
patterns demonstrates that there is a distinct minority citizen population that could be formed into
a single member voting district, and that historic voting patterns show this minority population
tends to support candidates that are not elected under the at -large voting system.
In order to better understand this issue and to gather community input on whether voting districts
would benefit Vista, the City Council established the ad hoc Citizens Advisory Committee on
Community Involvement. The Committee was created in September 2003, and was directed to
provide a report to the City Council by December 2003. The Committee met seven times, heard
several speakers and studied a wide variety of material related to this subject. Based on the
materials, speakers, community input and discussion, the Committee developed the following
recommendations which were presented to the City Council at a special meeting on December 16,
2003:
1) A majority of the Committee believe the at -large method of City Council elections should be
retained;
2) The position of Mayor should continue to be directly elected on an at -large basis;
3) The City should expand its efforts to reach the Hispanic Community through increased voter
education and outreach programs.
Following the presentation, the City Council discussed the creation of a "community outreach"
committee to address issues related to voter education, voter outreach and civic involvement. The
City Council included a three -year sunset clause on the committee. Subsequently, the
Community Outreach Committee (COC) was established by City Council Resolution No. 2004-
33 on March 9, 2004, with a mission to increase citizen participation in the community through
(1) increased voter participation through education and registration; and (2) facilitation of the
expansion of community involvement in civic affairs. The COC has an emphasis on outreach to
Vista's Hispanic population, but no mandate to target only that segment of the community. The
COC is a seven member committee with one or two alternates, and one non - voting youth
member. Monthly meetings were established and staff began an aggressive program of actions to
meet the committee's mission.
Accomplishments and Activities
2004 Voter Outreach
• 531 voter registration forms submitted to the Registrar of Voters, 77 with Hispanic surnames
• 18% in crease in percent of voters with Hispanic surnames from 2000 to 2004 (both
presidential election years)
• Day -long Voter Registration drive leading up to the November general election at both
campuses of the Vista Adult School
• Voter registration materials distributed to 9 churches, philanthropic organizations, Vista
Adult School campuses, Vista Community Clinic, Vista Townsite Community Partnership,
and DDH Enterprises, a large Vista business.
• Youth Voter Education Quiz and "What voting means to me" poster contest conducted in
eleven Vista elementary schools
Increased Registration. According to the Registrar of Voters Office, of the voter registration
cards that the Committee distributed, 531 were returned to the Registrar's office, and 422 of those
persons voted in the November election. Of that 531, 77 had Hispanic surnames, and 53 of those
77 voted. In addition to these tangible results, Committee members and staff recounted stories of
adults and children alike who they were able to reach out to and share information about the
importance of voting, how to register, and what a person's vote means to the community as a
whole.
Increased Voter Participation. Also according to the Registrar of Voters Office, 3,495
individuals with Hispanic surnames voted in the city of Vista in the November 2004 election.
There are 5,403 registered voters in Vista with Hispanic surnames; this represents a 65% voter
turnout. Compare this to the November, 2000, general election, wherein Vista had 4,858
registered voters with Hispanic surnames and 2,308 individuals from this group voted,
representing a voter turnout of 48 %.
2004 Community Outreach
• Resource Directory: at the direction of the COC, staff created a 28 -page comprehensive
resource directory providing information ranging from phone numbers for city information,
to resources for health, education, emergency and social services. The directory is regularly
updated, and is available free of charge at city hall, the Vista library, on the city's website. It
has been distributed to local schools, and social service and health agencies.
• Staff and COC members participated in numerous community workshops and resource fairs,
providing information about voting, general civic participation opportunities, and resources
available in the community. These events included National Night Out, the Vista Adult
School career fair and the Vista Adult School community resource fair.
2005/2006 Community Outreach
In 2005, the COC approved a separate "Community Involvement" action plan. The Vista
Townsite Community Partnership was hired to implement various community involvement
activities. While the plan was approved in 2005, the implementation carried into 2006:
• Townhall Meetings. Two townhall meetings were conducted in the Townsite neighborhood.
The intent of the meetings was to provide a forum for residents of the Townsite neighborhood
to get information and resources from city /public safety officials, and to initiate a dialogue
between government officials and residents. The meetings were very well received, each
having more than 50 local residents in attendance.
• Civic Engagement Workshop at CSU San Marcos
• Miscellaneous Activities. These activities included ongoing updates for the Resource
Directory and promoting vacancies on City Commissions.
Additionally, as in 2004, Staff and COC members participated in numerous community
workshops and resource fairs, providing information about voting, general civic participation
opportunities, and resources available in the community. These events included National Night
Out, the Vista Adult School career fair and the Vista Adult School community resource fair.
2006 Voter Outreach
• Specific information on registration and voter participation by surname is no longer tracked
by the County; however the Community was able to confirm that 191 of the voter registration
forms they tracked were submitted to the San Diego Registrar of Voters.
• Two one -day Voter Registration drives leading up to the June primary and November general
elections at both campuses of the Vista Adult School
• Presentations made to ESL and Citizenship classes as the Vista Adult School on how to
register and vote.
• Voter registration materials distributed to philanthropic organizations, Vista Adult School
campuses, Vista Community Clinic, and Vista Townsite Community Partnership.
Please note that the Registrar of Voters Office no longer tracks voting by surname; therefore we
were not able to track Hispanic surname voters in Vista for the 2006 elections.
Additional 2006 Community Outreach
The Resource Directory continued to be an extremely valuable resource community -wide. Staff
regularly updates the directory and makes the most updated versions available at City Hall and
via the City's website. COC members also continued to request copies for distribution.
As in the prior two years, Staff and COC members participated in numerous community
workshops and resource fairs, providing information about voting, general civic participation
opportunities, and resources available in the community. These events included National Night
Out, the Vista Adult School career fair and the Vista Adult School community resource fair.
Voter Outreach Results
The COC focused on voter education and outreach, and their efforts resulted in increased voter
participation in both the 2004 and 2006 November elections. For parity purposes, 2004, a
presidential election year, is compared with 2000; 2006, a gubernatorial election year, is
compared with 2002.
Year
2000
2004
Rate Change
Voter Participation Rate
68.29%
75.6%
+7.31%
Year
2002
2006
Rate Change
Voter Participation Rate
49.97%
56.32%
+6.35%
Post - Committee Activities
Towards the end of 2006, the COC proposed a new action plan to address community
outreach/involvement in three major categories. Staff anticipates continuing the efforts of the
Community Outreach Committee in implementing the following projects:
Community Outreach
• Collaborate with existing groups in the Latino Community
• Continue to update and distribute the Resource Directory, and participate in resource fairs
and community events
• Outreach to additional minority communities in Vista
Leadership Development and Support (COC members are active in the following groups, and
will provide information to city staff if any potential opportunities exist for collaboration.)
• Vista Sheriff Captain's Latino Advisory Committee
• Chamber of Commerce's Hispanic Business Outreach
• Vista Leadership Academy
In addition, staff is involved in the Vista Townsite Community Partnership's Townsite
Leadership Development Institute.
3. Media Outreach
• Spanish Language media targeting of city programs and activities