Group Uses Lawsuit Settlement to Register Nearly 6,000 Voters
A nonpartisan voter registration drive, using funds provided by the owners of the Plaza Pasadena shopping mall as part of a lawsuit settlement, has registered almost 6,000 voters in Northwest Pasadena and Altadena this year, representatives of the group said Friday.
Pasadena Citizens for Representative Government hired 30 voter registrars to go door-to-door in the predominantly black areas and to set up tables at local markets, said Elbie J. Hickambottom, chairman of the drive. The drive, which continues next year, has a goal of registering 10,000 voters.
The Hahn Co., co-owner and managing partner of Plaza Pasadena, provided $40,000 as part of a settlement arising from litigation brought by activists who were barred from circulating petitions at the mall in 1985.
The activists sued successfully, resulting in a precedent-setting 1987 appellate court ruling that all malls must use the “least restrictive means necessary” when setting access rules.
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