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. y c 2 This proposal for the election by districts calls for the election. of up to three Councilmen in any one district. This number permits good differentiation of candidates. However, with this proposal, the power of the voters of each district over the County legislative process is lost. Decisions may be made by elected officials on the basis of goodwill or charity. But, the nitty-gritty, the bottom-line of decision-making in a showdown of conflicting interests is the power of the majority vote. In a Council of 9 members, 5 votes pass the motion. The people of a district represented by and who votLS for only 3 Councilmen has power over only their 3 Councilmen. Because the control of the Council is with a 5 member majority, the decisions affecting the district are made by a majority of Councilmen over whom the people of the district has no power. The power of the people of the district over the County legislative process on issues .interna_ to that district is reduced to zero. And where does the power go? Initially, the power goes to the Councilman who is now free of the constraint of the voters of a district. He can decide an issue affecting that district on the basis of the best interest of himself and the voters of his own district, who are his constituents. He does not have to seek the votes of the people of the district which the decision will affect. That district's votes mean nothing to him. Thus, freed from the power of that district's voters, he can respond to the visible and invisible influences that are brought to bear upon him. The strongest influences are exerted by organizations with wealth. These organizations can have the greatest influence over the Councilman who is not accountable to the voters of the district affected by his decision because wealthy organizations have the money to mount an effective lobby both visible and invisible. Thus, a rational analysis of the flow of power shows that the pure election by district proposal for voting of Councilmen robs the people of a particular district of their power over the County legislative process and opens the way to the imposition, by wealth, of control over the County legislative process as it affects issues internal to that district. The proposal for dividing the County into equal districts meets the goal of fairness. The election of at-large Councilmen gives each district voters the effective representation that comes from being the constituent of the majority of Councilmen. Therefore, it is proposed that the fairness of the election by equal districts be combined with the effective representation of the constituency of the majority of the Councilmen. A plan that would provide 4 districts of equal population, each district electing one Councilman, would required 3 Councilmen elected at-large to give each County voter the effective power over the County legislative process that comes from being the constituent of a majority of the Councilmen. A plan that would provide for 5 districts of equal population, each district electing one Councilmen, would require 4 Councilmen elected at-large to provide each County voter the effective power over the County legislative process that comes from being the constituent of a majority of the Councilmen. A number of districts above 5 runs into the problem of not meeting the goals of economy and differentiation of candidates.