Editor:
First, what the U.S. Census calls “race” I prefer to think of as ancestry. By this definition the current ancestry of Eureka is just about 80 percent white. If our city council is in fact 80 percent white, I would not be surprised (NCJ Daily, July 14).
Second, according to the 2010 Census, there are 27,191 people in Eureka. It appears that the five wards of Eureka are roughly equally populated. This would put 5,438 people in each ward. In the November 2014 election, 3,359 votes were enough to elect either candidate in the two contested seats. One ward could elect the candidate of its choice regardless of how the other four wards vote.
There is not a representation or fairness problem. There is no need for a true ward system in Eureka.
Jeff Hayes, Ridgewood
This article appears in Strapped.
Unless you bother to ask yourself who benefits from a candidate needing tens of thousands of dollars to contend for a rural council seat that pays $500/month to reach citywide voters.
Compare that to the cost of a pair of shoes to canvass your ward several times.
Eureka, and Humboldt County’s deepest pockets will suffer a loss of influence in a true ward system.