"You tell me if that wasn't being transparent," Belforte said. "That's not taking care of your community; that's taking care of yourself."
On Thursday, Callinan declined a previously scheduled interview, saying in a text message he would talk more about district elections after the process is finished. Stafford also didn't return messages left over two days, and has not responded to interview requests from The Press Democrat for several months.
At the Tuesday council meeting, however, Callinan — who is also up for reelection this year — voiced regret over the outcome, which he voted against with Belforte.
"How bad was that? Isn't that ugly," he said after the decision. "It's not what we wanted, people, but we were forced into that."
Rohnert Park is pursuing district elections after receiving a legal threat in October over the city's at-large voting system for seats on the City Council. In the letter, Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman alleged the election process disenfranchised the city's growing Latino population and therefore violates the state's voting rights law.
City officials have rejected the accusation but chose to pursue changes to the election system to avoid a costly legal battle. Of the small number of California cities that have defended themselves in court after a similar threat from Shenkman, several have spent millions of dollars in legal fees, and none has prevailed.
But Belforte questioned the council's decision to embrace a new map unveiled at Tuesday's council meeting after Callinan last month called for a pause in the process of moving ahead with a different map the council previously favored. The earlier selection would have protected Callinan, Belforte and Mackenzie, who is currently serving as vice mayor, from having to run against a fellow council member in 2020 but ignored calls from a handful of residents to create a separate district for the city's A and B neighborhood sections, which are largely Latino.
The map approved Tuesday was submitted by resident Marci Akin, who was not known to have attended council meetings nor have had a prior interest in the district-based election process, Belforte said. Akin could not be reached Wednesday or Thursday, and messages left for her went unreturned.
Of the few residents who have participated in the city's map-drawing process now into its fourth month, most failed to create one that met the required criteria, including boundaries that are unbroken and with nearly equal populations in each district.
"I don't want to attack someone's ability to be brilliant," said Belforte, "but I do think it's suspicious. I just think it's either incredibly lucky, or that there was assistance."
Hollingsworth Adams acknowledged Akin is a friend of about 15 years, but denied that she had discussed district elections with her, let alone helped create the map posted to the city's website on Feb. 4 and ultimately chosen by the council.
"Nothing seems odd to me. It just doesn't," said Hollingsworth Adams, who has signaled interest in moving to avoid having to run against Callinan in the district where they both live. Her current term is not up until 2022.
Mackenzie, who said he was "no doubt" in a better position than Belforte following the Tuesday meeting, also defended the council's choices in its switch to district-based elections, under the advisement of the city attorney.
"I believe that the process was done properly. I've no reason to feel otherwise," he said. "I wanted this process to be completed, and then to have an opportunity to decide whether to run for a seventh term, so I'm happy to have an opportunity to make that decision."
You can reach Staff Writer Kevin Fixler at 707-521-5336 or kevin.fixler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @kfixler.