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A former Legacy Christian Academy teacher is suing the private K-8 school in Valencia, claiming harassment, discrimination, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress in a lawsuit that names her former employer, the school’s founder and two administrators.

UPDATE: Court Upholds Cumulative Voting In Santa Clarita Lawsuit

Updates with quote from city attorney

A superior court judge again upheld the legality of cumulative voting, which was questioned in a statement by city of Santa Clarita attorneys.


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The move led to speculation in open court Monday that a new lawsuit challenging the legality of cumulative voting could be forthcoming, officials said.

The question came up because city of Santa Clarita officials filed legal briefs questioning whether cumulative voting was legal — after agreeing to adopt cumulative voting as a remedy for an alleged California Voting Rights Act violation.

Santa Clarita City Council members voted 4-1 to adopt cumulative voting and move elections to even-numbered years during a closed session meeting in March.

The move was part of a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit settlement, which alleged Hispanic voters were being denied the ability to pick their candidate of choice due to the existence of racially polarized voting.

Related: Santa Clarita Votes To Settle California Voting Rights Act Lawsuit

Cumulative voting is commonly used in corporate America, and several cities have used it to remedy a Voting Rights Act violation. It’s a system in which, for example, if there were three City Council seats on the ballot, the voter could vote for three different candidates or give all three of his or her votes to one candidate.

Judge Terry Green ruled in July cumulative voting could be used by the city of Santa Clarita as part of its agreed-upon settlement.

The city requested a statement of decision — and both sides submitted terms. Santa Clarita attorneys said they were seeking clarity and a statement from the judge expressly stating city officials have the authority to enact the agreed-upon settlement terms of the lawsuit brought forth by two residents, Jim Soliz and Rosemarie Sanchez-Fraser.

An attorney for plaintiffs, Soliz and Sanchez-Fraser, called the city’s stance “bizarre,” and questioned why Santa Clarita city officials would authorize a settlement and then question its legality, in a previous interview.

The move by city attorneys prompted speculation in court the city would support a civil lawsuit against cumulative voting.

Joe Montes, the city of Santa Clarita’s attorney for this case, said the city was not trying to challenge the legality of cumulative voting. The city was seeking further clarity from the court.

“We weren’t challenging cumulative voting on Monday,” Montes said, “we were just trying to get the language of the judges’s ruling finalized to cover the decision that he’d already made back when he finalized the hearing.”

The move had to do with “protecting the city,” Montes said.

In a previous interview, Montes said the city would re-evaluate how to proceed after Monday’s ruling.

“If cumulative voting is not permitted and we’re not allowed to change the election date, then the parties will have to confer again as to how the matter will proceed,” Montes said in a previous interview. “It could mean that the litigation resumes, it could mean settlement talks could have to resume — that’s just too far off to speculate at this point.”

Kevin Shenkman, the attorney for Soliz and Sanchez-Fraser, said if the city continued to challenge the agreed-upon remedy, whether in the instant case or another, then officials would risk another lawsuit, which could have greater consequences for city officials.

“What we will do if that occurs, is we will file another CVRA lawsuit,” Shenkman said, “and we will insist on the same sort of relief that was obtained in our case against the city of Palmdale.”

A similar lawsuit against Palmdale alleging CVRA violations is still being fought in appeals, but Shenkman was awarded more than $3.6 million in fees and is seeking to have Palmdale City Council members held in contempt for purporting to be council members past July 9 in defiance of the court’s judgment, he said. Palmdale has also been ordered to go to district-based elections.

No party has ever successfully defended a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit, according to officials.

If a private party files a suit challenging cumulative voting in Santa Clarita, Shenkman said, then that party will ultimately be held responsible for any legal fees incurred to defend that lawsuit. Shenkman & Hughes would view such a lawsuit as an attack on minority voters’ rights, Shenkman said, and do whatever it takes to ensure that private party faces the consequences – which would almost certainly include being on the wrong side of a judgment for several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.

 

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UPDATE: Court Upholds Cumulative Voting In Santa Clarita Lawsuit

2 comments

  1. I read your article, titled, “Court Upholds Cumulative Voting In Santa Clarita Lawsuit” and others related to this lawsuit, but I continue to be confused and bewildered to the concerns of the plantiffs of this case and what law/right is being broken/disenfranchised. Can you please explain to me what is the problem. Thank you for your response and a great atticle!

  2. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed
    reading it, you’re a great author. I will make sure to bookmark your blog and will often come back someday.
    I want to encourage you to continue your great writing, have a nice morning!

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About Perry Smith

Perry Smith is a print and broadcast journalist who has won several awards for his focused, hyperlocal community coverage in several different regions of the country. In addition to five years of experience covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Smith, a San Fernando Valley native, has worked in newspapers and news websites in Los Angeles, the Northwest, the Central Valley and the South, before coming to KHTS in 2012. To contact Smith, email him at Perry@hometownstation.com.