District elections for Oroville

The city of Oroville intends to transition from at-large to district elections for City Council members beginning next year. The move, which comes after the city received a claim under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) from the law firm Shenkman & Hughes, follows a similar action taken by the city of Chico and is expected to be in place for the November 2020 election.

The City Council on Tuesday (Dec. 3) adopted a resolution of intent to move toward district elections that further directs staff to work with the consulting firm Q2 Data & Research LLC to prepare district boundaries. The firm’s services will cost about $25,000.

District elections will affect only council member positions, City Administrator Bill LaGrone said. At-large voting will remain in place for the mayoral post.