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Voting Rights, Gerrymandering & the Fight for Fair Representation A Panel Discussion + Concert — The 418 Project, Santa Cruz — September 19th, 2026 Brought to you by the Romero Institute, the 418 Project, and Heart Tribe Presents. Indivisible Santa Cruz is a promotion partner for this event. 

About This Event

Across the country, the machinery of representative democracy is under strain. This event brings together a panel of issue experts for a nonpartisan conversation about three converging threats to fair representation in the United States — followed by live music. This is not a candidate forum, and it is not about one political party versus another. We're looking at these issues through the lens of democracy and representation itself, and the way they affect communities — conservative and liberal alike.

What We'll Cover

• The Supreme Court and the Voting Rights Act — In April 2026, the Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais significantly narrowed Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, raising the bar for proving that a state has diluted the voting power of communities of color through redistricting.

• The nationwide gerrymandering wave — Starting with Texas's mid-decade congressional redistricting in 2025, a wave of new district maps has reshaped the U.S. House map, shifting seats toward conservative-leaning states heading into this year's elections and prompting several liberal-leaning states to consider redrawing their own maps in response.

• Underrepresentation of communities of color — One consequence playing out in real time: communities of color are losing their representation in the House of Representatives. For example, in May 2026, Louisiana's legislature passed a new congressional map that eliminated one of the state's two majority-Black congressional districts, reducing Black Louisianans' opportunity to elect their preferred candidates from two districts to one.

Our panel will unpack what’s happening, why it matters, and what's at stake for voters and communities of color regardless of where they live on the political spectrum.

The Panelists

Julia Butterfly Hill is an internationally known environmental activist best known for living 738 days in a 1,000-year-old redwood tree named Luna to prevent its logging — an act that led to a negotiated agreement permanently protecting the tree. She has since worked on environmental and social justice causes worldwide, co-founding the Circle of Life Foundation and the Engage Network, which trains civic leaders for social change. Hill is the author of The Legacy of Luna and co-author of One Makes the Difference, and has spent more than two decades connecting environmental protection to community empowerment and civic engagement.

Elaine Johnson is president of the NAACP Santa Cruz County Branch and Executive Director of Housing Santa Cruz County, where her work has helped bring forth numerous affordable housing projects across the county. She has spoken widely on how her African American and queer identities inform her work as part of the civil rights movement, particularly around housing. Under her leadership, the local NAACP chapter has continued its work advancing the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons and eliminating race-based discrimination. Her dedication to uplifting the queer community of color through her community service earned her recognition as Santa Cruz Pride's 2024 Grand Marshal. Johnson remains a leading voice for civic engagement and equity in Santa Cruz County.

Paco Estrada is a former Watsonville mayor and City Councilmember who represented the city's 4th District from 2018 to 2022, serving as mayor in his first year in office under the city's district-based rotation system. Born in Watsonville to immigrant farmworker parents, Estrada earned his undergraduate degree from UC Santa Cruz and a master's degree in modern history from San Jose State University. Before and during his time on the council, he worked as a grants officer for the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust and taught as an adjunct history instructor at Hartnell College. In 2025, he was appointed to the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees. Estrada ran for office to combat political apathy and low civic participation among young people and Latino voters, and remains a vocal advocate for expanding community involvement and representation in local government.

Ryan Coonerty is a former Santa Cruz mayor and Santa Cruz County Supervisor with two decades of public service. He served on the Santa Cruz City Council from 2004 to 2012, including two terms as mayor, and represented the Third District on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors from 2015 to 2023. A graduate of the University of Oregon's Honors College, the London School of Economics, and the University of Virginia School of Law, Coonerty has taught democracy and constitutional law at UC Santa Cruz since 2003 and at the Panetta Institute for Public Policy. He is the author of Etched in Stone: Enduring Words from Our Nation's Monuments and co-author of The Rise of the Naked Economy, and was named a Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership by the Aspen Institute.

Daniel Sheehan is a Harvard-trained constitutional attorney with more than five decades of experience litigating landmark civil liberties and civil rights cases. He served as co-counsel in the Pentagon Papers case, argued Eisenstadt v. Baird (cited in Roe v. Wade), represented Karen Silkwood's family in Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, and won a civil judgment against the Ku Klux Klan and American Nazi Party in the Greensboro civil rights case, before serving as chief counsel investigating the Iran-Contra affair. He founded the Romero Institute and the New Paradigm Institute and has served as lead attorney for the Lakota People's Law Project since 2006. Sheehan has taught constitutional law and American political history at UC Santa Cruz and UC Santa Barbara.

Ami Chen Mills is an educator, journalist, and author with 30 years of experience in community, school, and university settings. She lectures at UC Santa Cruz's Oakes College and is the author of several books, including State of Mind in the Classroom and The Spark Inside. An award-winning journalist recognized for environmental and investigative reporting, she hosts the radio program and podcast Moment of Truth and writes on climate policy, mental health, and social justice for Lookout Santa Cruz and other outlets.

Schedule

• 7:00 PM — Doors open

• 7:30 PM — Panel discussion

• 9:00 PM — Live music begins

Live Music

Random Rab (Headliner)

Random Rab is a Colorado-based electronic music producer and multi-instrumentalist who has spent more than two decades blending organic and synthetic sounds into immersive live performances. Since his 2001 debut album Epicycle, he has released more than a dozen albums — several reaching the iTunes Top 5 Electronic charts — and has performed at festivals including Lightning in a Bottle, Shambhala, Boom, and Coachella. He has held a 25-year annual residency performing the Sunday Sunrise set at Burning Man and has headlined the Great Pyramids of Giza festival in Egypt. His music has been featured by National Geographic, Google, and Red Bull.

Phreeborn and the Phreequencies (Opener)

Afro-beat artist Phreeborn brings Santa Cruz-rooted, globally-influenced live music to open the night.

Venue

The 418 Project — 155 S. River St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 — is a community arts venue operating since 1993, dedicated to cultivating safe, creative spaces where artists and communities come together to learn, grow, and create belonging through the arts.

Tickets

• $25 in advance, $35 at door

A Note on This Event

This is a nonpartisan event focused on the health of representative democracy