The City of Pacific Grove decided on a new district map for voters in upcoming elections

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Pacific Grove city council decided Wednesday on a new districting map that will set the boundaries for future city elections.

During their latest city council meeting, Pacific Grove leaders unanimously chose the map that divided the city into six districts. This came months after much consideration on the topic.

“It most fully fairly represented socio economic demographic distribution across Pacific Grove,” said city council member Paul Walkingstick.

Many of the council members considered how the map selection accounts for the Pacific Grove Unified School District as well as George Washington Park.

The city said that they are now set to move to district-based elections starting in 2026.

This decision comes after the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) said that re-districting would be more fair to voters. According to the City of Pacific Grove, LULAC threatened a lawsuit over the topic.

“I think it was all really beneficial, frankly, to give the voters and the residents some background on everything that we're thinking about," said Pacific Grove Mayor Nick Smith. "I think the record is clear; there's a lot of good comments.”

Following the map selection, the city council also discussed which districts would be on the ballot during each upcoming election.

The city chose to put districts one, three and five up for election in 2026, while districts two, four and six will be up for election in 2028.

Additionally, the city clarified current council members in regards to the newly formed districts.

“You must live in a district to run that district," said Mayor Smith. "So, if you currently live in a district we just created, you couldn't run in a different district in 2028 unless you move."

All six current council members are set to retain their seats until the end of their term, while the mayor's role will remain unaffected because the position is election at-large.