King City activists call to replace at-large elections with district elections for City Council.

A year after allegations of police misconduct surfaced in King City and about a third of the police department was arrested in an early morning sweep, a group of Latino residents is calling for district-based, rather than at-large elections to City Council. 

The notion behind district elections is that neighborhood voters can more readily elect someone from their part of town, and more readily elect a minority representative.

For example, County Supervisor Simon Salinas became the first Latino city council member in Salinas in 1989, the first year the city held geographical district-wide elections, rather than at-large; Salinas partially credits that redistricting change with his victory. 

Monterey County is one of just three California counties covered by the 1965 Voting Rights Act, although the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the act in 2013. 

Now, Latino leaders are calling on King City to do redistricting.

Friday morning, Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, and representatives of the Tri-County Association of Latino Elected Officials and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) plan to deliver a letter to City Hall demanding the city switch to district elections. 

In November, former councilman Carlos Victoria, who is Latino, lost his seat. Mike LeBarre won, with more than 31 percent of the vote. Darlene Acosta was also elected to City Council, unseating Victoria. 

Latinos were also allegedly targeted in a towing scheme orchestrated by King City police officers, along with the former acting chief's brother, who owned a tow pound in town. 

Meanwhile, City Manager Michael Powers is potentially nearing the end of a tumultuous time when it comes to policing. 

The PD is onto its second interim chief, and City Council decided earlier this month to rebuild its own police department, rather than to outsource patrol functions to the sheriff's office indefinitely. 

Powers, along with a hiring committee, has narrowed the field to one candidate for chief. That individual is an external candidate, and is currently in the background check stage of hiring.