Ojai Valley Democrats

09/04/2026

District elections do not work in our small town.

CAL BERKELEY LAW REVIEW explains in detail:

Beyond District Lines: Rethinking the California Voting Rights Act’s Promise of Fair Representation

August issue of CA Law Review says it all on at-large vs district voting in small communities like Ojai…

OVERVIEW

The California Law Review — published by the UC Berkeley School of Law — released a significant peer-reviewed study in August 2026 examining the effectiveness of the California Voting Rights Act and district-based elections across California. The findings are directly relevant to Ojai's current ballot initiative and provide substantial academic support for returning to at-large elections.

KEY FINDING 1: District Voting Fails Without Three Specific Conditions

Districts do not work in small towns with a small group of electors.

The study identifies three conditions that must exist simultaneously for district voting to meaningfully increase minority representation:

1. The minority population must be sufficiently large
2. The minority population must be geographically concentrated in one area
3. Voting must be racially polarized

They conclude plainly that when these conditions are not present — particularly when minority voters are dispersed throughout a jurisdiction rather than concentrated in a specific geographic area — district voting provides no meaningful benefit to minority communities and can actually reduce their overall electoral influence.

Ojai meets none of these three conditions at the scale required to justify district elections.

Ojai's Latino and Asian American communities are distributed across all four districts. No single district has a minority population large or concentrated enough to constitute a meaningful voting bloc under the district system. Spreading these voters across four separate micro-districts does not amplify their voice. It fragments it.

The authors argue that California law should now be reformed to allow local governments to pursue election systems best suited to their specific circumstances — rather than defaulting to district voting as a one-size-fits-all solution.

In Ojai's case, council seats have been won with as few as 345 votes — representing a fraction of the city's registered voters — while the vast majority of Ojai residents had no say in those outcomes. Since 2020 districts limit vote to only 2 seats now: their district representative and Mayor. This is precisely working against fair representation of council members for all voters in small towns like Ojai. And we see incumbent Whitman in District 3, running unopposed! So we don't get options or a chance to replace him with someone new...

The California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) spurred hundreds of cities, school districts, and other local governments to transition from at-large to district-based elections. Although the CVRA attempts to address racial vote dilution, this Note finds that the CVRA creates unique incentives to adopt dist

09/02/2026

IS Ojai's Democracy in trouble? Ruth Ben-Ghiat, leading experts on authoritarianism, finds the collapse occurs through small, local abuses of process, power and influence, that most people never notice until it's too late.

Example: Like changing the rules of the game to benefit those in power. In our case, the at-large sections has become a contested issue. Yes, it's true — right here in Ojai, we're living out a version of it. Our Democratic club just got the boot by those in power at the Ventura County Central Committee, after 20+ years of representing this community. This was not a fair or democratic process either. Those with "political ambitions" and agenda are working to distort the facts, to get rid of the competition.

Please don't be part of the divisive group that is promoting fear over facts— the angry ones hyper-focused on the wrongdoing of others, threatening with lawsuits... while saying we must be "nice". You know who they are.

Autonomy and critical thinking are needed now more than ever.

08/31/2026

Tonight local Ojai youth featured at Chataqua Event—-Ojai’s Future?
How to better serve our youth?
Q:Favorite things about Ojai?
A: Nature and small town atmosphere of course!
Q:Biggest concerns?
A:Tourism based economy, lack of parking/ too much traffic!
Q:Suggestions?
A:Charge every visitor $10 parking fee!! Use the trolly!
…
Thank you Mayor Andy Gilman and Tom Krause and Ojai museum for hosting!

08/31/2026

"Hands Off Our Vote" initiative is a national action plan designed to defend voting rights and hold power accountable by galvanizing communities around the message that voters—not leaders—decide the future.

In this webinar, you will learn about actions you can take in order to build momentum and make the statement: ‘We the people’ will vote in record numbers and that the will of the people prevail in November and beyond.

Join us on September 2, 2026 3pm PT/6pm ET! RSVP: https://thirdact.org/events/hands-off-our-vote/

08/31/2026

More than 60 volunteers hit the doors in 100+ degree heat in Palmdale because they care about our community and want to take the House back this November!

A special thank you to Latinos Demócratas Unidos for helping us host so many incredible volunteers. Together, we’re building the grassroots movement we need to win!

08/25/2026

Public Safety Town Hall Meeting

Wed., August 26 the @6-7:30 PM. Kent Hall 111 West Santa Ana Street, Ojai

PLEASE PLAN to attend the city of Ojai's Public Safety community conversation with Sheriff Jim Fryhoff, Police Chief Tyler Abbot, and former Police Chief Steve Jenkins.

The discussion will explore local law enforcement's role in our elections and federal immigration enforcement under California law. There will also be discussion about local surveillance with the Flock cameras.

Bring your concise questions and concerns about our rights and what protections are in place. We need as many people as possible to show up!!

08/11/2026

Dear Dems

Will you help lower excessive local fees that prevent ADUs from being built?

California YIMBY is sponsoring SB 1117 by Senator Sabrina Cervantes to reduce barriers that make it harder for homeowners to build ADUs.

It's about to come up for a vote on the Assembly floor, and passage is not assured before the August 31 deadline. Special interest groups with significant influence in Sacramento are working hard to try and stop this bill. Your voice can make the difference.

Please send a message to your Assemblymember: Vote YES on SB 1117!

SEND A MESSAGE >>
Here's why SB 1117 matters: it tackles huge impact fees charged by local governments that have become a crucial problem facing ADUs.

Under current law, ADUs of 750 square feet or less are exempt from most local impact fees—the charges cities impose to fund parks, roads, fire stations, and other infrastructure. Once an ADU exceeds 750 square feet, however, the homeowner must pay impact fees based on the entire unit's size, not just the extra square feet.

In jurisdictions where impact fees run $10 to $30 or more per square foot, that cliff can add $8,000 to $24,000 to project costs overnight. Property owners either shrink their designs to stay under the cap, limiting their flexibility and use, or abandon ADU plans altogether.

SB 1117 fixes this by switching to a reasonable fee structure, reducing a cost barrier and helping build more ADUs.

Unsurprisingly, opponents are already mobilizing to try and stop SB 1117, and will do everything they can to kill the bill in these crucial last weeks. Your calls and emails made the difference in committee votes and on the State Senate floor. Now we need one last, strong push to get the Assembly to pass it.

Will you send a message to your Assemblymember? Urge them to vote YES on SB 1117!

Gratefully,

Emily

Emily Jones
Deputy Chief of Staff
California YIMBY