Placentia Candidates Sue to Oust Incumbent

Four candidates for the Placentia City Council have filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse a court ruling allowing incumbent Maria Moreno to be on the November ballot, even though she missed the filing deadline by three days.

Incumbent Constance Underhill and candidates Scott Brady, Judy Dickinson and Don Shepherd filed a petition Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court.

It asks Judge William F. McDonald to reverse his Aug. 15 decision to let Moreno file her reelection papers late after she was misinformed by the deputy city clerk about the deadline. A hearing is scheduled Sept. 13.

“A deadline is a deadline and not a guideline,” said Brady, a real estate broker running for council for the first time. “We should all be treated the same way.”

McDonald ordered the city to include Moreno’s name on the ballot for the Nov. 7 election after he learned that deputy city clerk Marie Macias mistakenly told the councilwoman an hour before deadline that she had five more days to file her paperwork.

Mayor Michael L. Maertzweiler decided not to seek reelection, meaning that deadlines were automatically extended for all candidates--except incumbents.

Moreno told the court it would be unfair to exclude her because she relied on information from the city.

The city made a mistake, Moreno said, but corrected it and would have done so for any candidate.

The other council candidates maintain that putting Moreno on the ballot is unfair to those who followed the rules.

“We want to reverse the ruling,” said Bruce Peopter, the lawyer representing the group.