ARTICLE: Legal Wrangling Over Montebello Trash Continues
Stop Athens
MONTEBELLO COMET
Legal Wrangling Over Montebello Trash Continues
Posted By admin On October 16, 2008 @ 9:20 pm In General News, Montebello | No Comments
Two more Montebello residents filed a lawsuit against the city on Tuesday, following the city council’s decision to hold off on addressing a referendum petition that asks the council to decide between overturning its approval of a trash hauling contract or putting the decision on the ballot for voters to decide.
This time, the suit filed by Rosemary Torres and Mike Torres argues that the city council did not have the legal right to sidestep the choices presented to them on the referendum petition, which had been prepared by a citizen’s group and was, according to county verification, signed by more than 4,700 Montebello residents.
“We’re seeking a court order requiring the city and city council to follow the law regarding the referendum petition and that is either to repeal the agreement or submit it to the voters,” said Brad Hertz, the attorney retained by the Torres’.
“That’s the requirement under California Election Code 9241, after the city clerk certifies the signatures. By taking no action at the Oct 8 city council meeting, the city violated that provision of the election code,” he said.
The 3-2 council vote that provoked this lawsuit had itself deferred to an earlier lawsuit made by Montebello resident Irene Villapania. She alleged the referendum petition was prepared incorrectly and that signers of the petition were given misleading information about details of the contract.
The council majority was interested in seeing if the court would agree with Villapania’s claim.
Still, the referendum petition had the support of Councilwoman Mary Anne Saucedo-Rodriguez, who proposed the motion at last week’s meeting to put the referendum on the ballot. “The courts are going to decide if the referendum is valid, but I represent the people…” she said.
After Saucedo-Rodriguez’s motion, Councilwoman Kathy Salazar proposed to replace it with a motion to postpone making a decision. This was seconded immediately by Councilwoman Rosemary Vasquez.
Salazar says she would like to see the referendum go onto the ballot, but it all depends on how the courts decide.
“When something goes to the courts, I believe we have to listen to what the courts have to say before we have to spend a lot of money in putting it on the ballot. I have no problem with putting it on the ballot if the courts come back saying the petition was valid, that it was not flawed. I would support it going to the vote of the people,” she said.
While the city is the target of both lawsuits that were filed within a little more than a week of each other, “it’s no secret that the real battle,” according to Villapania’s attorney, is being waged by the interested parties in the suits: Athens Services and Montebello Residents for Honest Government PAC, the citizens group behind the referendum campaign.”
Usually cases involving referendum petitions have to be brought up by registered voters, he says.”
The independent haulers who were shut out of the amended exclusive agreement between the city and Athens Services were early critics of the contract, but according to Ron Saldana, executive director of the Los Angeles County Disposal Association (LACDA) that takes the side of the independent haulers, the citizens group Montebello for Honest Government are the main proponents.
“We’re fairly involved, but we’re not the lead group. The lead group is the citizen group,” he says. The LACDA is only indirectly involved as supporters of the PAC and the referendum effort.
The two lawsuits have enough relation to each other that the attorneys for
both Torres’ case and Villapania’s case believe they will be
consolidated into one case.
”It usually will go before one judge,” Hertz says. The judge will
likely be Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Yaffe, who had been assigned
to preside over Villapania’s case. “We filed a separate document
called notice of related case.”
Before voting in support of Salazar’s substitute motion on Oct 8, Councilman Robert Urteaga asked City Attorney Arnold Alvarez-Glasman if there would be any negative effects from the council waiting until the court makes a decision on the Villapania’s lawsuit. The city attorney said there would be none.
“Ultimately if the court makes a decision that the referendum is valid, it comes back to the city. The city would have no alternative at that time but to call for an election or to consider repealing the agreement,” Alvarez-Glasman said.
Urteaga says there is enough time to wait for the court’s decision. “The election is in 2009 anyway… Have it go to the vote of the people in 2009 — if the courts say it’s allowed,” he said.
But the lawsuit filed by the Torres’ on Tuesday disagrees with the city attorney’s and the council majority’s assessment. “They have no authority. They should do the job they’re supposed to do. They’re not supposed to sit on their hands, they’re not supposed to delay the people’s right to vote.” said Chris Robles, spokesperson for the referendum campaign.
Article printed from egpnews.com: http://egpnews.com
URL to article: http://egpnews.com/?p=2582