Expert Finishes Study of Santa Paula Vote Issue

The City Council has scheduled an Oct. 14 public hearing to release the findings of a voting-rights expert asked to recommend whether the city should fight a federal push to separate the city into five council election districts.

A recommendation to challenge the Justice Department would all but ensure a federal lawsuit. The department has said the city should change its elections from an at-large system to a district system to give Latino voters fairer access to the local political process.

“I definitely want it in front of the public,” Mayor Jim Garfield said. “The public will be able to comment, respond and have their input.”

Immediately before the special meeting, council members will get a chance to discuss the report in a closed session because it involves potential litigation. The council may vote on the recommendations later that evening, or could postpone a decision until a later date.

Councilwoman Laura Flores-Espinosa, the sole Latino on the council, said she hoped her colleagues would vote immediately, because she thinks the council will need time to weigh comments from the public.

The city paid Los Angeles voting-rights lawyer John E. McDermott $10,000 in August to study Santa Paula’s demographics and voting patterns.

McDermott said Monday he had completed his research and was ready to make a recommendation. But he refused to reveal his conclusions until he could present it to council members. Conflicts in council members’ schedules led them to set their meeting for Oct. 14.

The Justice Department began an inquiry on the Santa Paula issue more than a year ago and has threatened to sue if the city does not negotiate changes. Justice officials held off on filing a lawsuit until McDermott put together his study.

Santa Paula has a history of Latino underrepresentation in city government and on elected and appointed boards. Federal attorneys believe adopting a councilmanic district system could help those who live in portions of the city that are overwhelmingly Latino.

Historically, Justice officials say, white voters appear to have voted against candidates favored by Latinos even though Latinos make up two-thirds of the city’s residents.

Garfield has said he believes the 4 1/2-square-mile city of about 27,000 people is too small to divide into five districts, while Flores-Espinosa favors a district system.

McDermott has represented several other California cities in voting-rights cases, often brought by Latino advocacy groups.

One of those cities is Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County, which is still fighting voting-rights litigation brought in 1993 by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Santa Maria’s city attorney estimated that litigation has cost his city at least $1.7 million to date. The city’s insurance policy has covered nearly all of the costs, but it is unclear whether Santa Paula’s insurer would cover the costs if the federal government sued.