As we approach the 2024 election season, I thought it might be appropriate to show CANA residents maps of county and local government district boundaries and how CANA has been split between many districts. Districting was supposed to combine “areas of interest” but it sure did not happen in the Avenues. CANA is located in portions of three City Council districts and two County Supervisor districts. This makes it imperative that our residents keep up on candidate information as we approach the upcoming primaries and the 2024 general election.
To make matters even more complicated, many of these districts will not have candidates on the ballot in 2024. For instance, City Council District 4 elected their Council Member in 2022 so this position will not be on the ballot until 2026 but Districts 1 and 5 (also in the CANA area) will be on the ballot in 2024.
While it was once thought that City Council districting would bring the costs of elections down and make elections easier and more in tune to areas of interest, it seems that large amounts of money are still being raised by special interest groups.
The sad part that many of us miss is only being able to vote once every four years for City Council and for an only one Council Member who represents our district. In the olden days before districting, voters could vote for all seven Council Members…four in one election and three two years later so everyone was much more involved in the election process.
I have superimposed the CANA boundary over Butte County Board of Supervisor and Chico City Council boundaries to illustrate my point. Take a look at these district area maps and see how they have divided up the Avenues.