District City Council elections are tailor-made to address the concerns of those that have banded together to form Mantecans4Change.

They’re the community-based group pushing to recall Mayor Ben Cantu.

But if they really want change they’d switch gears, drop the recall, encourage a candidate from their district to run, and actively support a mayoral candidate that is aligned more with their values in the November 2020 election.

Recalling Cantu is not only a daunting task but it doesn’t really accomplish what they ultimately want. It is also a needless exercise because they could attain their basic goal of getting rid of Cantu by working for the defeat of Cantu when he is up for re-election in November 2022.

That’s because if the group manages to complete the Herculean task of collecting 9,000 plus signatures of valid registered voters that reside in the city — the legal 20 percent required to trigger a recall vote — the earliest the election could take place is in June. Not only is that just six months before Cantu’s term is up, but they’d still have to convince a majority of voters that participate in a June election to vote against Cantu.

Perhaps organizers are personally blinded by a deeply rooted dislike of Cantu.

While that is possible, it is highly unlikely.

Based on the reason they list to justify the recall they are greatly concerned and/or disturbed about the direction the City of Manteca has taken since Cantu’s election in 2018.

It is clearly a legitimate viewpoint but Cantu’s real powers are as overrated as those of the Wizard of Oz.

Cantu is powerless to do much of anything unless he gets a council majority to join him. Manteca is a general law city and as such only invests special power in the mayor to conduct meetings and carry out perfunctory or ceremonial duties such as signing ordinances after they are duly passed by the council.

Given the mayor occupies the proverbial bully pulpit he does set the tone for Manteca.

But if you don’t like the political direction of Great Britain you work to remove Prime Minister Boris Johnson and not a stand-alone powerless Queen Elizabeth who is essentially a talking head and doesn’t occupy a throne of real power.

What Mantecans4Change contend ails Manteca is the direct — and indirect — result of a minimum of three elected officials acting in concert.

The clue that there is a better way to accomplish their goal of removing Cantu and changing Manteca’s direction is what clearly was the tipping point for their banding together: The proposed homeless shelter and navigation center on South Main Street.

All of the signatures on the first intent petition to set in motion the collection of 20 percent of the signatures of registered voters to trigger a recall election —  including those that were ruled invalid — are from the neighborhoods to the west of the homeless shelter site.

All of the addresses of those signing the petition fall within the District 3 the City Council carved out Tuesday in their move to have Manteca go to district elections.

The mayoral candidate most likely aligned with the concerns expressed by Mantecans4Change is Councilman Dave Breitenbucher.

Breitenbucher happens to reside in the newly created District 3. His term is also up in November 2022. Instead of seeking re-election he is on a mission to replace Cantu as mayor.

There has been little to no chatter about anyone within the boundaries of District 3 seeking election to the council in November.

As such it is an opportunity for Mantecans4Change to convince someone from their ranks or who aligns closely with their views to run for the District 3 seat. Given they have to reside in the district which has been ground zero for the bulk of Manteca’s homeless issues there is a good chance they could elect a council member that sees things more to their liking on the issue.

And if at the same time they dedicate manpower to an effort that successfully elects a mayor in 2022 more aligned with their views then they will have two out of three council members that see things more their way.

That may not get them what they want as is it is not a majority, but all it would take is working in the 2024 election on behalf of a like-minded council hopeful in either District 1 (West Manteca) or District 2 (Southeast Manteca).

They could even try to work in tandem in the November 2022 election with people in the older parts of District 4 (Manteca north of Louise Avenue) that might be able to put up a candidate in their district that reflects concerns about the homeless and other city issues that Mantecans4Change have expressed.

Evidence that such a strategy is do-able can be traced back to the 2006 municipal elections.

It is the last time an organized group worked to try and remove council members from office based on decisions they made.

In 2006 the issue was Big League Dreams and the original idea of building it at Woodward Park. The proposal galvanized the surrounding neighborhoods who viewed it no less of a threat to the peace and quiet of their neighborhoods as well as the safety of their children as those that oppose a homeless shelter being built near them.

The group worked mightily to turn the election into a referendum on then Mayor Willie Weatherford and two council members that were in support of the idea.

In precincts north of the 120 Bypass it was a borderline landslide for Weatherford and council members that shared his position on BLD. That wasn’t the case in the Woodward Park neighborhoods.

And while Weatherford and the council majority eventually found a better solution that ended up developing the BLD complex on surplus wastewater treatment property to make it a win for everyone, it was clear if there were districts back then the group could have elected a council candidate that saw things their way.

But because everyone on the city elected all five council members including the mayor it didn’t happen.

District elections by their very nature empower neighborhoods.

The question now is if Manteca’s neighborhoods are going to use that power to change the course of the city.

 This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com