OXNARD : Council Criticized for Fighting Suit

Catalina Soria lashed out at the Oxnard City Council on Tuesday night, saying its battle against her husband’s voting-rights lawsuit was racist and a senseless waste of money.

“You don’t have the civic courage and the Christian love to stop defending a system that oppresses us and forces us to live like rats,” she said at a hearing to discuss the budget.

Soria wept as speaker Vincent Godina told the council: “After all these years, after all the wars our brothers fought for this country, you’d think we’d be allowed to participate in this government. But no, the city fights us with our own money.”

On Friday, John Soria withdrew his lawsuit, which demanded that the city pick council members by district instead of at large.

His wife was one of three Latino speakers Tuesday who criticized the council for spending a lot of money to fight the suit--aimed at increasing Latino representation in the city--instead of calling an election to settle it. City Atty. Gary Gillig said the city spent between $150,000 and $200,000 to fight the suit.

Soria said he withdrew the suit because he ran out of money to prepare his case. The City Council voted in a closed session Tuesday to not seek compensatory damages from Soria, Gillig said.

Council members looked somber and did not speak during the remarks, but at a meeting earlier Tuesday, Councilwoman Dorothy Maron and Mayor Nao Takasugi cheerfully congratulated Gillig for his handling of the Soria case.

“I’d like to commend you for a job well done,” Maron told Gillig.