IRVINE : Election Challenge to Go Before Judge

A trial in the long-awaited lawsuit challenging the right of Cameron Cosgrove to hold his City Council seat should begin next Wednesday, according to lawyers arguing the case.

The lawsuit, which argues that Cosgrove was seated illegally in July, 1988, will be heard by Judge Claude M. Owens in Orange County Superior Court. At that hearing, the judge will consider only the legal arguments surrounding the case. Based on those arguments, he will determine whether a full trial is necessary.

The case has been hotly debated for more than a year, dividing the council and provoking angry reactions in the community.

Mayor Larry Agran, a Cosgrove supporter, calls the litigation “purely political” and argues that Cosgrove should be allowed to serve out his term. Cosgrove is seeking re-election in the city’s June 5 election.

However, Sally Anne Sheridan, Agran’s chief council rival and opponent in the upcoming mayor’s race, has consistently supported the lawsuit and vehemently denounced the way in which Cosgrove was seated.

Cosgrove ran for the council in June, 1988. At the same time, voters approved Measure D, a City Charter amendment stating that if a council member is elected mayor, the top unseated vote-getter in the council race will succeed to the vacant seat, but also allowing residents to petition for a special election for the seat.

Cosgrove placed third in the race for two open council seats but was elevated to fill Agran’s unexpired term because Agran was elected mayor.

At issue is whether the provisions of Measure D were in effect for 1988 election. Plaintiffs in the case, two Irvine residents, have argued that the measure took effect before Cosgrove was formally seated.

If the measure is found not to have taken effect until after Cosgrove took his seat on the council, he would be entitled to keep it without facing a special election.

The litigation has dragged on for months, with each side blaming the other for a succession of delays. Next week will represent the first time the issue has gone to trial, and if the matter cannot be disposed of in a single session, it will face yet another setback.

The judge, who is retired, works on assignment and only in odd-numbered months, so next week’s hearing represents the last chance before March for the case to be resolved.