Anti-Affirmative Action Ordinance to Be Considered

El Segundo could become one of the first cities to pass an ordinance backing Proposition 209, the anti-affirmative action measure approved by 54% of California voters in November.

The City Council on Tuesday asked City Atty. Mark Hensley to draft an ordinance by late January that would uphold the proposition within El Segundo. The council will study the issue and decide whether to vote on such an ordinance.

City Councilman Liam Weston, who introduced the idea, said that 65% of the city’s voters backed Proposition 209 and want it enforced locally.

A federal judge has blocked the state from enforcing the proposition because opponents showed a “strong probability” that it is unconstitutional. A hearing on a preliminary injunction for Proposition 209 is scheduled for Dec. 16. Legal experts say that court challenges to the measure could take years and eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

While Proposition 209 may be tied up in the courts, a local ordinance might allow El Segundo to implement the measure, Hensley said.

“This is a fundamental question of how are you going to direct your staff regarding the policy of hiring in the city,” Weston said, explaining why a city ordinance would be beneficial even though a state proposition has been approved.

Some council members, however, are not in a rush to pass the anti-affirmative action ordinance. “I would like to wait and see what the courts say,” Mayor Sandra Jacobs said. “There’s no guarantee we’re entering into this ordinance.”