21. ORDINANCE 19-2026 - AN ORDINANCE to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force at the earliest period allowed by law, submitting to the electors of the City of Lakewood an amendment to the Third Amended Charter of the City of Lakewood in order to establish a process and requirement for ward redistricting in the City of Lakewood.
I had the opportunity to serve on the Charter Review Commission in 2024, and I highly recommend that this process and requirement for redistricting move forward to the voters.
Regularly reviewing ward boundaries and ensuring that residents have equal representation on city council is a healthy democratic process that supports equitable support and voice for residents. The Commission weighed approaches for undertaking regular redistricting, seeking to learn from the experiences of other municipalities, congressional districts, and districts in the statehouse, and we ultimately landed on this approach as one that would most protect against gerrymandering or outside influence of an individual party or parties.
It has been nearly 50 years since our current ward boundaries were drawn, and population changes over time as the city changes. It's important that our wards keep up with the ways in which Lakewood has changed.
I had the opportunity to serve on the Charter Review Commission in 2024, and I highly recommend that this process and requirement for redistricting move forward to the voters.
Regularly reviewing ward boundaries and ensuring that residents have equal representation on city council is a healthy democratic process that supports equitable support and voice for residents. The Commission weighed approaches for undertaking regular redistricting, seeking to learn from the experiences of other municipalities, congressional districts, and districts in the statehouse, and we ultimately landed on this approach as one that would most protect against gerrymandering or outside influence of an individual party or parties.
It has been nearly 50 years since our current ward boundaries were drawn, and population changes over time as the city changes. It's important that our wards keep up with the ways in which Lakewood has changed.