Mayor’s Lawyers Assail Holden on Reform
A feud over a petition drive to create a municipal government reform panel took another twist Tuesday, when lawyers for Mayor Richard Riordan suggested that Councilman Nate Holden violated the law by asking a judge to delay a ruling on the matter.
Riordan and his supporters sued the city after the city attorney’s office suggested that the City Council has the discretion to delay the reform measure’s appearance on the ballot.
U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer is expected to rule on the suit within several days.
Holden, an ardent critic of Riordan’s petition drive, wrote to Pfaelzer on Monday asking her to delay a decision until he investigates whether the petition has legally qualified for the ballot.
An attorney working on Riordan’s petition drive, which seeks to create an elected panel of 15 members to study government reform, said Holden is technically a defendant in the suit and cannot communicate with the judge unless the plaintiff’s representatives are present. Such communication is a misdemeanor, the attorney said.
Riordan’s lawyers sent a letter to City Atty. James K. Hahn about the alleged violation.
Holden said he called Pfaelzer’s courtroom to request the delay and was told to put the request in writing.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
