The biggest upheaval in Pasadena politics in years has been driven largely by the decisions and actions of one man: Mayor Johnny Isbell. It was Isbell who, immediately after a U.S. Supreme Court decision made it possible, proposed the 2013 charter change creating a City Council election system of six district seats and two at-large seats, replacing an all-district seat system. Isbell said adding at-large positions would provide residents with better representation. It was Isbell who emptied his political account to fund a campaign urging support for the charter change and to oppose a council candidate seen as a potential threat. Isbell was the second named defendant, after the city itself, in a 2014 lawsuit claiming the new council structure intentionally diluted Latino voting strength.
And after a federal judge in January rejected the 6-2 system in a resounding victory for the plaintiffs, it was Isbell who instructed the city’s attorneys to appeal.
It’s fair to say that Johnny Isbell owns this episode. His fingerprints are even on the colorful details, such as police officers escorting council members out of the meeting chamber, a gun clattering to the floor from a pile of the mayor’s belongings during a council session, and city employees doing campaign work on city time.
But when the four-year-long drama finally reaches its conclusion, Isbell may be watching from the sidelines.
Full Article: Conclusion of Pasadena voting rights case could be anticlimactic – Houston Chronicle.
