After a voting bloc of Fresno councilmembers appeared to coalesce around vocal members of the public who said the powers of a proposed redistricting committee wouldn’t go far enough, Council President Nelson Esparza’s ballot initiative failed Thursday.

The failure comes after four councilmembers, led by northeast representative Nick Richardson, suggested giving the proposed committee final say on voter maps and more restrictions on who could participate.

Councilmember Miguel Arias said he didn’t want a repeat of Fresno County’s election process, where in 2021, after receiving recommendations from that body’s advisory committee, supervisors ultimately adopted redistricting maps created by political consultant Alex Tavlian.

Esparza ultimately made a motion to pass his proposal without the suggested amendments, and that motion failed. The motion gained support from Council Vice President Tyler Maxwell and councilmember Mike Karbassi, with councilmembers Arias, Richardson, Annalisa Perea, and Brandon Vang opposed.

What Power Does Advisory Committee Have?

Esparza’s measure would have created an advisory commission, picked by councilmembers, to recommend updated council district maps following the 2030 census.

The plan called for forbidding commission members from having served in elected office for 10 years or having served 10 years prior. Commission members also couldn’t have worked at political party central committees and or have done business with the city within four years of serving.

“Let’s put the authority back in the hands of the people once again,” Karbassi said from the dais.

Members of the public, along with some councilmembers, however, criticized the proposal, saying that it wasn’t truly independent and didn’t have final authority over the maps.

Kay Bertken, president of the League of Women Voters, said the organization has long supported an independent commission.

She said if the council is appointing members then “it is not independent. It is window dressing.”

Amendments Would Have Give Commission Final Authority

Richardson took the lead on proposing fixes to Esparza’s proposal, saying the commission should have final say on the maps.

He added provisions further limiting who could be on the commission and reduced requirements for previous voting frequency.

Amendments also would have disqualified any paid staff for a political campaign or anyone with a City Hall consulting contract.

Political Consultant Tavlian’s Involvement Questioned

Proposal critics went beyond simply supporting more commission authority.

Loopholes in the measure would have allowed campaign staff or political consultants on city payroll.

“There’s a loophole big enough for a plane to fly through it,” Arias said.

At question from Arias was the participation of political consultant Alex Tavlian, who advises Karbassi and has received multiple city contracts for political consulting.

He also performs campaign consulting for many Fresno elected officials.

In 2021, county maps created by Tavlian drew criticism for dividing up Latino communities. County supervisors that year controversially picked his maps, disregarding recommendations from their advisory body.

That next year, Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula got AB 2030 signed into law, taking away the county’s redistricting authority and giving it to a 14-member independent commission.

After a line of questioning from Arias, City Attorney Andrew Janz said his office authored the proposal, but he didn’t answer if others had been consulted on drafting the plan’s language.

Janz said it would violate confidentiality agreements to answer all of Arias’ questions, but told Arias he signed the document.

Karbassi told GV Wire he did not know if Tavlian worked on it, nor did Esparza. Esparza said his office created the recommendations.

In a text to GV Wire, Tavlian said the city attorney’s office drafted the language. No further clarification was given.

Not Unreasonable to Require Politically Engaged Voters: Esparza

Leaving the city council with final decision-making power over redistricting maps keeps elected officials accountable for decisions, Karbassi said.

He said voters can take out councilmembers but wouldn’t have that power over commission members if the amendments had been incorporated into the ballot initiative.

“This is taking away ultimate authority from people who can be punished by the public,” Karbassi said.

Discussions about previous voting history included the possibility of excluding new citizens and young people recently coming of voting age.

As to the proposed voting experience requirements, Esparza said it was reasonable to require commission members to be politically engaged.