District Elections Public Workshop Kickoff

The City of Goleta is beginning the historic process of transitioning to district elections for our City Council beginning in November 2022 and will be holding three public workshops this summer. Spanish interpretation will be available. These events are opportunities for the community to learn about, provide input and participate in this important process. The first of these workshops will be held Monday, June 7th, at 6:00 p.m. Register here: https://tinyurl.com/9zdtmkdh, Webinar ID 972 1928 6351. We hope you will join us! In addition to being informational, the public will also learn about tools they can use to draw their own maps for proposed districts.

With district elections, the city will be divided into four districts, and voters in each district will elect a City Council member who lives in their own district. The mayor will continue to be elected by voters across Goleta. Public input is a critical part of this process.

If you would prefer to come in person to a workshop, two are scheduled following COVID-19 safety guidelines. A workshop will be held on June 26th at 11:00 a.m. at the Goleta Union School District Boardroom located at 401 N. Fairview Avenue. A third workshop will be held on August 2 at 6:00 p.m., location to be determined.

Assistant City Manager Kristy Schmidt said, “Making the move to District Elections is a big transition for the City. We have been working with our Public Engagement Commission to develop a process to educate and involve Goleta residents shaping the future of our elections. Our hope is that community members will attend at least one of the three workshops we have scheduled.”

Also as part of this process, the City is looking for feedback on what communities of interest might exist within Goleta. A community of interest is a group of people with common interests who live close together and would benefit from being kept together in a single district. If you know of a community of interest, please email it to Goleta’s City Clerk, Deborah Lopez, at dlopez@cityofgoleta.org.

For additional questions, contact cityclerkgroup@cityofgoleta.org or call 805-961-7505.

Also, stay tuned for the launch of our new City of Goleta District Elections website.

In the meantime, we hope to see you at one of our workshops!  Thanks in advance for caring about being informed and for participating in shaping the future of elections in Goleta!