Ordinance passed moving Hayward to district elections for City Council starting in 2026

HAYWARD, Calif., Oct. 9, 2024— The Hayward City Council gave final approval Tuesday to legislation moving the City to a geographic district-based system of electing all City Council members except the City’s mayor. 

The action established the boundaries of six new Council districts and the sequence of when elections in those districts will take place starting in November 2026. Under the new system, the mayor is the only member of the seven-person Council who will continue to be chosen through at-large, citywide elections.  

The change has no impact on the upcoming Nov. 5 municipal election in which four Council seats will be decided by citywide vote—with the top four vote-getters being elected to four-year Council terms. 

The first district elections for Hayward Council are scheduled to take place in November 2026 in Districts 1 and 6 when the terms of seats held by Councilmembers Julie Roche and George Syrop are set to expire. Council elections in Districts 2, 3, 4 and 5 are scheduled to take place two years later in November 2028. 

Once in effect, the change means Hayward voters will cast ballots in elections only for mayor and for their district Council member rather than to fill all seats on the City’s seven-member legislative body. 

The move to district elections for Council is taking place pursuant to a settlement of a lawsuit brought against Hayward under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). The lawsuit contended that at-large elections for municipal office in Hayward unlawfully dilute the voting power of Asian Americans. 

To qualify to run for Council in a district election, a candidate must be a resident of the district. To see maps of the new Council districts, go online here on the special City website created to support Hayward’s transition to district elections for City Council, www.maphayward.org.