Oxnard Criticized for Rejecting Voting-Rights Settlement

Latino leaders and city union representatives accused the Oxnard City Council of being undemocratic and fiscally irresponsible after the council rejected a settlement of a potentially costly voting-rights lawsuit.

The suit, aimed at increasing minority representation on the council, was filed by an unsuccessful mayoral candidate last year. It would force Oxnard to pick council members by district instead of in citywide elections.

Plaintiff John Soria said he would drop the lawsuit if the issue was put before voters in a special election, but the council rejected that offer after a closed-door session this week.

Manuel Lopez, the only Latino on the council, broke ranks Thursday with his colleagues and said he supported the settlement because the city--saddled with a $4-million deficit that has forced layoffs and deep program cuts--cannot afford a protracted legal battle.

On Friday, many of the city’s most prominent Latino leaders voiced their support for Lopez’s position and vowed to pressure the council to reconsider its decision.

“Whether most people agree with districting or not, it is fiscally appalling to pay an attorney when a settlement could be reached for a fraction of the trial’s cost,” said Andres Herrera, a political consultant and spokesman for the Latino Coalition for Political Representation, of which Soria is a member.

“If the council claims to represent the public at large, it is very frivolous not to allow the people to decide for themselves” in a special election, Herrera said. The coalition will meet over the weekend to discuss how to pressure the council into allowing the special election, Herrera said.

Oxnard has hired John E. McDermott of Los Angeles, one of the top voting-rights attorneys in the state, to represent the city in the districting lawsuit, scheduled for trial June 18 in Los Angeles federal court.

McDermott was the lead attorney for the county of Los Angeles, which spent more than $6 million in legal fees to unsuccessfully defend itself in a similar voting-rights case last year.

In addition to legal fees, Oxnard has spent a large amount of staff time for city librarians, attorneys and clerks to prepare for the case, Lopez said. City Atty. Gary Gillig has said that if the districting lawsuit goes to court, the trial would be “very expensive, maybe more than $100,000.”

But districting advocates predict the cost will far exceed that amount. Smaller cities such as Watsonville in Northern California have spent millions of dollars to fight districting and lost. A special election would cost about $50,000, city officials said.

“It’s obvious that the City Council is only looking at its own reelection chances and not the city’s best interests,” said Marcos Vargas, executive director of El Concilio, Oxnard’s most influential Latino organization.

“I agree with Dr. Lopez. We need to put it on the ballot and let the voters decide,” he said. “The at-large system is a primary barrier for representation of Latinos in Oxnard . . . . With the city cutting desperately needed services, it doesn’t make sense to pursue the lawsuit.”

Oxnard council members Dorothy Maron, Gerry Furr and Michael Plisky and Mayor Nao Takasugi did not return phone calls.

In recent months, the council has earmarked $2.4 million in cuts for the upcoming fiscal year, including funding for most recreation programs, the South Oxnard Community Center, the Carnegie Auditorium and a senior citizen mini-bus program. The city has also closed restrooms in public parks.

The city has penciled in $500,000 in cuts for the Police Department and approved more than $200,000 in cuts for the Fire Department.

City union officials said Friday that a costly lawsuit doesn’t make sense when the city is struggling to avoid layoffs.

“Let the people decide it in the special election,” said David Hartsuck, president of the Oxnard chapter of the Public Employees Assn. of Ventura County. “I’m against spending a lot of money in a lawsuit to fight something that might be inevitable.”

His remarks were echoed by Bill Lewis, president of the Oxnard Peace Officers Assn., and Bill Gallaher, president of the Oxnard chapter of the International Assn. of Firefighters.

“It doesn’t seem right to be spending all this money when it could be best used in other areas,” Lewis said.

“The voters should get a chance to decide and put this issue to bed,” Gallaher said.

The council made $1.2 million in budget cuts last year, and more than $2 million in cuts are expected in fiscal year 1992.

“The people who benefit most from vital government services are the poor and farm workers,” said Marco Abarca, an attorney for the Oxnard chapter of the California Rural Legal Assistance.

“This is not just a Latino issue. It is a city issue, because services that affect all residents are being cut to pay for a lawsuit that the city will probably lose. The city is going against a historical trend--first it was Watsonville, then Los Angeles, and Oxnard is the next domino.”

Jorge Alvarado, a criminal attorney specializing in youth violence, said the city’s refusal to settle the districting suit is one more example of the council’s lack of concern for Latinos.

“The city has its priorities all messed up, and the Latino community always ends up taking a back seat,” Alvarado said. “By saying no to the special election, they are saying we don’t care what the Latino population wants as far as government representation.”