Two South OC Cities Allegedly Refused to Pay Up Over Voting Rights Lawsuit

An lawyer is suing Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Niguel for allegedly failing to reimburse her fees aft sending abstracted letters claiming each metropolis violated the California Voting Rights Act and forcing a power to territory elections.

Dana Point-based lawyer Michelle Jackson says some cities haven’t paid her fees astir a twelvemonth aft alleging a big of South Orange County cities were violating the California Voting Rights Act by not transitioning to district-based elections, claiming at-large voting disenfranchises number voters.

In at-large elections, voters tin ballot for arsenic galore candidates arsenic their assembly seats are up for grabs. For example, if 3 assembly seats are connected the ballot, voters tin prime 3 candidates. 

In territory elections, voters tin lone take 1 campaigner that resides successful the voting territory they unrecorded in. Many cities clasp an at-large mayor, meaning each elector successful municipality gets to measurement successful connected the mayor’s race.

Now, Jackson is suing the 2 cities implicit the alleged missing lawyer fees. 

The suit against Rancho Santa Margarita was sent to the region clerk’s bureau connected Aug. 7, portion Laguna Niguel’s lawsuit came 4th months earlier successful May.

It caught the oculus of the section section of the ACLU, which says refusing to wage Jackson’s lawyer fees could outgo cities much successful the agelong run. 

Julia Gomez, a elder unit lawyer astatine the ACLU of Southern California, sent a letter to the metropolis clerk’s bureau successful Rancho Santa Margarita successful May astir refusing to wage fees and violating provisions wrong the CVRA.

“The City has nary ineligible authorization to proceed to contradict outgo and should instantly reimburse Ms. Jackson to debar an unnecessary suit and the discarded of a important magnitude of payer funds,” reads the letter.

Rancho Santa Margarita voted unanimously past October to power from an at-large voting strategy to territory elections, straight arsenic a effect to Jackson’s request missive past July accusing the metropolis of lacking just practice for elected officials.

[Read: Rancho Santa Margarita Moves Forward With District Election Map] 

In August 2023, the metropolis released a connection announcing the power to territory elections, successful which it reads “while transitioning to a district-based predetermination strategy was not an existing extremity for the City, connected June 23, 2023, the City received a missive challenging its existent predetermination system.” 

In a July metropolis unit report, Rancho Santa Margarita metropolis leaders were warned that “A metropolis tin reasonably expect the anticipation of a tribunal awarding the plaintiff a seven-figure ($1,000,000 oregon more) lawyer interest grant if it chooses to combat a CVRA suit and is unsuccessful.”

In her letter, Gomez said that enactment means the metropolis needs to wage her lawyer fees. 

“The Council was truthful alert earlier adopting the solution of intent that the harmless harbor imposes a mandatory work connected the City to reimburse Ms. Jackson,” Gomez said successful an April missive to the Rancho Santa Margarita metropolis clerk.

The metropolis manager’s bureau for Rancho Santa Margarita did not respond to aggregate calls from a Voice of OC reporter.

In the aforesaid letter, she highlighted that “it is further concerning that the City of Laguna Niguel is besides present undermining the CVRA by taking the aforesaid attack of refusing to comply with the reimbursement provision.”

Jackson said Latinos successful places similar Rancho Santa Margarita don’t person practice successful section government. The city’s location to 48,000 radical based connected the most caller Census data – implicit 10,000 residents are Latino oregon Hispanic, making up astir 21% of the population.

She’s made akin allegations against San Clemente, Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel.

“For me, this is ridiculous,” Jackson said successful a telephone interview. 

She added that pushback often comes from elected officials who person been successful bureau for decades and don’t privation their seats endangered.

Jackson sent a reimbursement announcement soon aft municipalities approved territory elections. 

In bid to comply with the CVRA, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Niguel followed the “safe harbor” process which allows municipalities 45 days to repay the costs from the archetypal demand.

Jackson added that fees for extracurricular litigators – some hers and the cities’  – on with demographers and metropolis attorneys already connected the timepiece volition travel astatine the outgo of taxpayers.

Why Withhold Attorney Fees?

In July, an lawyer from Best Best & Krieger, LLP – contracted to correspond the metropolis of Laguna Niguel – objected to paying immoderate lawyer fees owed to Jackson not giving the sanction of the lawsuit she’s representing.

It comes aft metropolis leaders adopted an ordinance successful January to power from at-large citywide elections to territory elections, redrawing territory maps for each 5 metropolis assembly positions.

Laguna Niguel’s City Manager’s bureau did not respond to petition for remark erstwhile asked astir the suit by a Voice of OC newsman past Monday.

But Jackson and her attorney, Carlos Perez, reason determination is ineligible precedent for withholding the plaintiff’s sanction – saying revealing their individuality could enactment them successful jeopardy.

In erstwhile territory elections lawsuits against different Orange County cities, the plaintiff’s sanction is attached to the suit.

In a telephone interview, Gomez from the ACLU said Laguna Niguel is trying to deter residents and attorneys from pursuing voting rights lawsuits successful different cities. 

“The constituent of the ‘safe harbor’ is to springiness lawyers and voters assurance successful being capable to prosecute idiosyncratic fundamentally pro-bono and beryllium reimbursed by the city,” she said.

Under the CVRA’s “safe harbor” procedure, lawyer fees are capped astatine astir $30,000. But this lone accounts for Jackson’s fees, not including paying her demographer and the city’s extracurricular litigator’s fees.

Gomez added that it’s concerning that some Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Niguel person chosen to hold payments for “meritless reasons,” particularly since there’s already small inducement for attorneys.

“But if a metropolis is refusing their extremity of the bargain, past it’s important that voters spot an contented arsenic it means the metropolis choosing not to abide by the law,” Gomez said successful a telephone interview. 

Jackson, the lawyer who sent the archetypal request letters, criticized Laguna Niguel and Rancho Santa Margarita for perchance costing taxpayers much wealth than if they paid the archetypal lawyer fees.

“It’s not fiscally conservative. I deliberation it’s stupid.”

Hugo Rios is simply a Voice of OC reporting fellow. Contact him astatine [email protected] oregon connected Twitter @hugoriosss.

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