Antioch Publishes Final Council Election Map

The city has published a final map of the four new council districts approved earlier this month.

However, district elections won't begin until 2020. And because council terms are staggered every two years, in 2020, winning candidates in District 1 and 4 will be elected to two-year terms instead of the normal four years.

The process of drawing district maps triggered months of contentious but mostly civil debate. City leaders felt forced into the issue after receiving a demand letter from an attorney who alleged the city's elections violated the California Voting Rights Act because they diluted the voting power of minority residents.

Several maps were considered, but a clear majority of residents who voiced their opinion in writing or at public forums supported the version approved by the council by a 3-2 vote. Many lived north of Highway 4, the oldest and most economically depressed area of the city. No resident living in this area has mounted a successful run for city council in over three decades.

Because council members must live in the district they represent, the districts will likely change the face of the city council.

In addition to north Antioch getting its own council seat, two council members -- Lamar Thorpe and Lori Ogorchock -- currently live in District 3. Unless one moves to a different district or decides not to run for re-election, they will face off in 2020.

Thorpe, along with Tony Tiscareno and Monica Wilson, voted in favor of the final map. Mayor Sean Wright and Ogorchock voted against it, having preferred a different version proposed by several members of the Chamber of Commerce.