Suing to Diversify City Councils

(Originally aired 6/5/17) Guest: Kevin Shenkman, JD, Attorney   Do the people on your city council look like you? Are they from your side of town? Your racial group? In a democracy it feels important to know there’s someone in elected office who gets your concerns, right? But here’s the thing – as America becomes more racially and economically diverse, our local governments are not keeping pace. Why is that? Is there something baked into the way cities and counties elect councilmembers that suppresses racial diversity? Lots of research suggests the answer is yes. In Southern California, attorney Kevin Shenkman is leading a crusade to change that. He’s filed upwards of a dozen lawsuits and threatened to file many more against cities and towns across California to get more diverse local councils.