05/05/1974 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Maps of proposed new ward boundaries were previously distributed to Council members. The proposal provides for eight wards, one councilman to be elected from each ward. Each one of four Eugene Water & Electric Board members will be elected from two wards with the fifth to be elected from the city at large. Each Council and EWEB member now serving would continue to the end of the term for which elected. Manager explained that effort was made in redrawing the boundaries to equalize the number of persons in each ~ard re- presented by each councilman. Although there was a spread of some 12,000 to 13,000 people between the lowest and highest numbers represented, the proposed realignment is considered acceptable :,." i' Public hearing was opened. . John Tiffany, president of EWEB, reported that the Board had discussed the proposed changes and felt the proposal would give each Board member a better district to represent. He urged the Council to proceed with necessary action to make the new wards effective as soon as possible. John Massaglia, 117 West 13th Avenue, opposed the new alignment, primarily because of the way the lines were drawn. He felt that hav1ng no two councilmen from the same ward looked to the Council's self-interest rather than-the people's, particularly referring to the University and Skinners Butte areas. He felt better representation could be achieved by making a cohesive unit of the University area and of the "inner city" area. Public hearing was closed, there being no further testimony. Council Bill No. 525 - Amending Sections 2.960, 2.970, and 2.180 and adding Section 2.962 to the City Code re: Wards and elections was read by title and number only, there being no councilman present requesting that it be read in full. . Mr. Williams moved seconded by Mr. Keller that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be con- sidered at this time. : Councilwoman Beal indicated she would,vote for second reading so as not to delay passage and cause concern for those wishing to file for office. She said, however, she would vote against final passage. Councilman Murray said he felt there was misrepresentation of what the ward redistricting was about. He explained the difficulty in drawing lines because census tracts from which information was taken did not coincide with precinct lines. He said the charge that the University ward existed was not correct. The existing ward containing University popula- tion also contained other areas. One of the new wards, Mr. Murray felt, had a higher per- centage of University people than the old one, so really that one could be termed a "co- hesive University ward." He continued that the new Ward 7 would do a better job for repre- s6ntation of the central city and elderly population than the present alignment. He pointed ~ out that the University population, spread throughout the city as it was, would not lend ~ itself to cohesiveness. And that probably could be counted an advantage to the entire com- munity. Mr. Murray explained that the major reason for drawing lines in the manner pre- sented was because the Willakenzie area was too large for one ward and too small for two, so parts of the rest of the city had to be added to it. Any other plan would be disastrous so far as equalization of representation was concerned, -he said, and this one deserved to be adopted with all expediency. Councilwoman Beal did not disagree, recognlzlng the difficulty of drawing new lines. '~But she regretted removal from her pres'ent ward of the area around the University itself. She said she had hoped that in time a University student or someone who was an integral member of that particular community would seek a seat on the Council, thereby adding new dimensions to the thinking. In no way would she be convinced, she saidl, that the new alignment did not "tear up the University." She maintained that a great majority of the students lived within a mile of the campus. She recognized the efforts of the committee working on the new boundaries and that there was no consensus in thinking against the University, but she said she did not like the results and would therefore vote against it. Councilwoman Campbell said she had no objections to the proposed plan; any objections she had were corrected in redrawing the lines and she had had no opinions expressed from the pub lic . Councilman Wood commented that each councilman would be representing some portion of the University population because of its dispersal throughout the community. - Vote was taken on motion for_~_ec~,md J;'eading. An,_~qtlnc{l )nem1;>~rs;-,present ~o.~ing aye, thed,bill was, re,ad -th,e~se~ond {rme by counc-[i bill number only.'-,-- '-,,=~ \2~ 5/6/74 - 2 /