Fewer candidates are running for city council — is the switch to district elections to blame?

The Bay Area is home to two of the nation’s three most powerful politicians in Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. It is one of the most politically involved regions in the U.S. and is credited as the birthplace of the modern Free Speech Movement.

So why can’t it find enough people to run for its city councils? At least five Bay Area cities have canceled entire or partial city council elections this year because of a lack of candidates, opting to appoint the only people filing. Danville, Lafayette, Hillsborough, Mill Valley, and Cotati canceled their whole council elections.