OVDC Supports At-Large Voting at May 12, 2026 Ojai City Council Meeting

At our last OVDC meeting, members supported the Executive Committee Drafting a Resolution in support of returning to at-large voting where council members are elected city wide. This was on the Ojai City Council Agenda for Tuesday, May 12, and again on May 26, 2026. OVDC emailed our Resolution 26-01 for Public Comment. We advocate for all members of the Ojai community to contact their council members and submit public comments in support of at-large voting.

Download OVDC Resolution 26-01 here

Specifically, please ask the Council to hold a public hearing on this issue at their next meeting and direct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance restoring at-large voting, so all Ojai voters can once again have a voice in electing every council member.

Please consider filing a speaker card at the May 12 meeting, for item 11, At Large Voting. Or login on zoom. Ojai City Council Agenda and zoom link available here:

https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/ojai/061f75352fefce55fc0618f78d81cac90.html

To ensure your comments are included in the official public record, please send them to the City Clerk by 3:00 p.m. on Monday, May 11 cityclerk@ojai.ca.gov

If you miss the Monday Public Comment, send email directly to the Council members before noon on the day of the meeting on Tuesday, May 12.

ALL City Council Contacts: Mayor Andy.Gilman@ojai.ca.gov; Leslie.Rule@ojai.ca.gov; Rachel.Lang@ojai.ca.gov; Andrew.Whitman@ojai.ca.gov; kim.mang@ojai.ca.gov

Thank you for taking the time to participate in this important community discussion.

Demographer presentation from May 26th meeting of Ojai city council is here

Three things stand out from the full demographic report that demonstrate our compliance with Californiat Voting Rights ACT and

1. The Pineiro case is best example. If Pinero had run city-wide she likely would have won a seat on the council. In 2022 election for District 1 — the most Latino district — Michelle Pineiro finished first in the most Latino precinct and lost the race by 24 votes overall to Leslie Rule. The district system did not elect the candidate who might be considered Latino-preferred. Because Ojai's Latino vote is even split with districts, at-large voting could have given Pineiro access to the entire city electorate and a higher percentage of Latino voters.

2. The mayoral comparison is devastating. Every mayoral election since 2016 has been competitive — margins as tight as 50.6%. Every district council race since 2020 has been either uncontested or decided by tiny district-level margins with minimal citywide legitimacy.

3. Zero Latino council members in three full election cycles under the district system. The California Voting Rights Act's core purpose of improved access to minority candidates has simply not been achieved with district elections in OJai.

Renee Roth, Secretary, Ojai Valley Democratic Club

infoovdc@gmail.com