Palmdale politics could be changed forever if a judge’s ruling in a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit stands. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking Santa Clarita news alerts delivered right to your inbox. A tentative ruling by Judge Mark V. Mooney called for Palmdale to scrap at-large elections in favor of four districts and a citywide mayoral position, which is currently held by Mayor Jim Ledford. Furthermore, Mooney’s judgment states no member of Palmdale‘s City Council, save Ledford, can hold office after July 9, 2014, calling for a special election in June. “As always, we’re pleased with Judge Mooney’s ruling and reasoning,” said attorney Kevin Shenkman, who represented the plaintiff. “It’s a very well thought-out decision. We’re happy because we think the remedy that Mooney has set out will provide an opportunity for Latinos and African Americans in Palmdale to elect their candidates of choice.”
The city of Palmdale did not issue a prepared statement as of this story’s publication; however, city spokesman John Mlynar indicated the city would continue to fight the decision, which was handed down Wednesday, according to court records. The city of Palmdale has 15 days to challenge the ruling.
Mooney found July 25 that the city of Palmdale had a history of racially polarized voting, which is one of the conditions necessary to prove a CVRA violation.
The issue is being closely watched by most Santa Clarita politicos because Shenkman’s firm, Shenkman & Hughes, is also suing the city of Santa Clarita and two local school districts on similar grounds.
Since that date in July, the city of Palmdale and Shenkman’s firm had several rounds of hearings in an effort to create legal “remedies” to fix the violation.
Full Article: Palmdale Voting Rights Act Ruling Could Change Political Landscape | KHTS Radio.