Local district elections open doors for minorities in Orange County cities

In November 2018, Costa Mesa made history when voters for the first time elected a Latino to the City Council. In fact, three Latinos were catapulted to victory on the seven-member panel in that landmark election.
But it wasn’t an overnight, dramatic shift in demographics that shook up the political landscape in Orange County’s eighth largest city, which is two-thirds White. Rather, it was a change in how voting is conducted, and reflected a movement that has been coursing through Ca