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#0,..„.004B p sos Cto elebratingthe 38 Years of Service Community Building Communities.Growing Leaders, http://www.bpsos.org CFC No. 10038 March 6,2018 Dear Mayor Pulido and Members of the City Council: On behalf of BPSOS Center for Community Advancement, we are submitting this letter to express our support for the city of Santa Ana to switch to a district-based elections system. With a population of 342,930,Santa Ana is the largest remaining city in California that still elects its council members at-large. This system is no longer effective in ensuring true and fair representation for all of Santa Ana's neighborhoods at city hall. Although the City of Santa Ana has made strides in recent years to become a more transparent and inclusive government, our election system continues to marginalize certain sectors of the community geographically. In the November 2014 election, 11%of the population turned out to vote and decided who would represent each ward for all Santa Ana residents. This is unacceptable and has resulted in certain wards and neighborhoods, especially those in central Santa Ana,to be underrepresented. In some cases,wards are not actually getting to choose their ward representative. In 2012,Santa Ana elected a representative for ward 3 that wasn't the first or even second choice of ward 3 residents. We have outgrown our ward system. It is time to switch to a district-based elections system so that all Santa Ana residents have better representation and an equal voice at city hall. A district-based elections system will improve diversity, integrity, and accountability in local politics by: • Bringing government closer to the people. District elections improve accountability. If a neighborhood is being ignored or neglected,the residents can vote in a new council member who will better represent them. • Providing fair representation for everyone. In large, diverse cities,district elections make sure that ALL neighborhoods have a representative who understands their needs and fights for them at City Hall. • Taking money out of local politics. District elections help lessen the influence of money in campaigns, and allow community candidates a fair chance to run.A grassroots candidate doesn't need to spend thousands of dollars on mailers and robocalls in order to reach all the voters in their district. In 2016,over$310,000 was spent by the winning candidates on their campaigns(on average, each winner spent$103,000)and even more by special interest groups backing them. We urge you to switch to a district-based elections system and support all of our residents in having an equal voice at city hall. This is necessary to ensure a healthy democracy and improved quality of life for all Santa Ana residents. Let's join the cities that have switched from at-large to district-based elections, including our neighbors in OC, Anaheim and Fullerton,to ensure their growing populations are represented and have a voice in local government. Sincerely, Hang Nguyen Executive Director Hang.nguyen@bpsos.org (714)897-2214 BPSOS Center for Community Advancement,Inc. 1 13950 Milton Ave.,Suite 301 Westminster,CA 92683 1 714.897.2214 1 info@bpsos.org A/IL,.