Modesto extends battle on elections

Appeal OK'd in Latinos' fight to end at-large voting

The Latino residents — Enrique Sanchez, Salvador Vera and Emma Pinedo — in 2004 sued the city under the state law.

They want Modesto to replace its at-large City Council elections with district races that they say would eliminate some of the barriers that prevent minority candidates from seeking office, such as the cost of a citywide campaign.

Latinos make up 30 percent of the population, but only one, Balvino Irrizary, has won election to the council in nearly 100 years.

The city has so far fought the lawsuit by arguing that the state voting law is unconstitutional because it allows racial preferences. Stanislaus County Judge Roger Beauchesne sided with Modesto in 2005, but a state court last year overturned his ruling. In March, the California Supreme Court also re-jected the city's argument. The city is seeking to overturn that decision.

John McDermott, a private attorney advising Modesto on the case, has maintained that the lawsuit belonged in the U.S. Supreme Court because it involved constitutional questions.

Robert Rubin, the lead attorney representing the Latinos, recently submitted a bill seeking $2 million from the city. The bill includes $1 million for his legal fees; the remaining $1 million is a multiplier Rubin argues is appropriate because of the difficulty his firm faced in defending an untested state law.

Modesto has spent more than $730,000 on the case.

Rubin's co-counsel, Joaquin Avila, successfully argued a voting case involving Monterey County judges before the Supreme Court in 1998. Rubin was a part of that legal team. They have been behind several lawsuits that forced district elections in other parts of the state.

Modesto will compete with thousands of other cases seeking attention from the Supreme Court this year. Of those, the court typically hears fewer than 100. City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood said Modesto could hear by September whether the court accepts its petition.

City Council members have emphasized they do not oppose district elections. They say they are trying to protect the city's charter, which requires that election reforms go before voters.

Councilman Brad Hawn said he would support putting an election reform measure before the voters. He said he joined his colleagues in fighting the lawsuit because he believes the state voting law is too vague, which could open Modesto to election challenges regardless of what system it adopts.

"This just puts us and every other city in a real tenuous position," he said.

The council is awaiting a report from the city's charter review committee, an 11-person group that is expected to draft recommendations for district elections, this summer. The committee must hand a report to the council by June to give officials time to place district elections on the November ballot.

Former Mayor Carmen Sabatino and Modestans for District Elections also are gathering petitions for a separate district election measure. They want to get it on the ballot late this year or in early 2008.

In 2001, Modesto's voters roundly re-jected an initiative that would have mandated district elections.

To comment, click on the link with this story at www.modbee.com. Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee. com or 578-2366.