Single-Member Districts

Currently, the seven-member Austin City Council is composed of the Mayor and six Council members. All seven are elected on a citywide basis, meaning that each city voter selects their choice for mayor, Council member 1, Council member 2, Council member 3, etc. This method of selecting our city council creates a body that does not adequately represent the city it presides over. A new electoral system is needed for selecting the Austin city council that provides a more equal representation system better suited for our growing and diverse city.

 

Instituting single-member districts is the best way for Austin to create a more accountable and representative city council. By dividing the city into several smaller districts from which one councilperson is elected, the council would be better able to represent areas and neighborhoods that now feel excluded. Under the current system, as mentioned in an April 10, 2009 Austin American-Statesman article entitled Council to discuss single-member districts Monday, city council elections are now disproportionately affected by central Austin voters who historically have higher turnout. Creating single-member districts or a hybrid system incorporating single-member districts into the current at-large framework would create a council more in-tune with all Austin residents, not just those in central Austin.

 

Some proponents of the current city council election framework may point to the disproportionately high voter turnout in central Austin and argue that it is evidence that central Austin residents are simply more knowledgeable about city issues and care more about city politics. Thus, the current system is very representative because it caters to those residents who actually care about city issues. This argument, however, avoids the possibility that voters outside of central Austin vote less because they aren’t presented with candidates that they feel represent their interests. Creating a system that includes single-member districts would allow the diverse neighborhoods of Austin to select candidates from their own communities that represents their interests. Today’s city council is not accountable to the voters in this way since it is selected in large part by a portion of the city and not the city as a whole.

 

Single-member districts have been rejected by Austin voters six times. If city council elections are an indicator, the voters in those elections were probably central Austinites. The city is growing and diversifying at a rapid pace may finally be ready to transition into a city council system that incorporates single-member districts or adopts them exclusively. Doing so would create a council that is more sensitive to the wide range of community opinions and may ultimately result in a city that is stronger and better equipped to manage Austin’s future.

Other article used: Council votes to oppose bill on single-member districts