Dear Editor,

This letter is in response to the article titled "Push to Settle Voting Rights Case Fails" published on December 2, 2024.

Since the Santa Monica City Council voted to appeal the Superior Court ruling in 2017 that sided with the plaintiffs stating that the City of Santa Monica violated Latino voting rights under the CA Voting Rights Act (CVRA) it has spent more than $14 million of public tax dollars paying their high-priced law firm Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher $1,800 plus per hour to fight Latino voting rights.

It is important to question the reluctance of the City Council majority to mediate a lawsuit that is a major liability to Santa Monica, and now Judge Daniel M. Crowley at the November 22 Superior court hearing is considering a second trial that may last another 4-5 years if the City of Santa Monica decides to appeal the decision of the 2nd trial potentially costing another $10 million of our tax dollars. Who is against settling the CVRA lawsuit and why?

We know the why. The establishment interest led by SMRR, CEPS and Santa Monica Forward have consistently stood against district elections because they want to control the City’s purse strings and future development of the City of Santa Monica using the at-large election system. Leaders of those organizations that are against settling the CVRA lawsuit have assembled their supporters by continuing to providing jobs, funds or campaign contributions.

It is no secret that during the last four years, the Santa Monica City Council was unable to settle the CVRA case, establish district elections and stop the waste of our public dollars because a majority vote could not be reached.

Clearly, Councilmember Lana Negrete has been against a settlement. Does this decision have anything to do with the sizable grant that her music store receives from the Santa Monica Education Foundation?

In the article, Councilmember Negrete complains of receiving calls from her constituents asking to settle the CVRA case and stop wasting taxpayer dollars saying, "I'm getting harassed," Negrete said. "People were coming out of the woodwork over Thanksgiving weekend.”

Really? Isn’t it your job as a City Council member to listen to constituents about the misuse of our tax dollars to defend an unfair election system? I wonder what she calls it when Chris Harding and his CEPS associates call her to pressure her to hold the line to continue to fight Latino voting rights and defend an election system rooted in systemic racism?

In addition, Councilmember Negrete diminishes the merits of the Latino voting rights lawsuit and our call for permanent political representation by stating the following: "The whole race card thing is silly to me," she said. "Back in the day there probably was a need for that in the Pico Neighborhood…

"I'm not adverse to a different (voting) system, but that's not what this case is about," Negrete said. "They're losing sight of the fact that this case is about voter dilution," which she doesn't believe is happening.

Negrete fails to acknowledge that this case goes beyond voter dilution which was proven, it’s about getting rid of a rigged election system.

After a six-week trial that involved the review of the pertinent facts, the LA Superior Court ruled that Santa Monica had violated the CVRA and the CA Equal Protection clause due to the intentional act of implementing an at-large election system for the purpose to prevent candidates of color from gaining a seat on the Santa Monica City Council.

It’s not silly to ask for change to the at-large election system that is inherently racist and that has left the Pico Neighborhood without Mexican American representation for 73 years ("Santa Monica Is Case Study in Voter Discrimination, Report Contends," October 10, 2023).

This has resulted in chronic institutionalized racism materializing itself through racial segregation, inequities in public education and achievement gaps, environmental dumping, social neglect, gang violence, police abuse, child sex abuse, gentrification and the list goes on.

The new Santa Monica City Council will have to decide if they want to continue to fight Latino voting rights and district elections using our precious tax dollars. The Superior Court judge Crowley has asked the new City Council to enter mediation and save taxpayer dollars.

Our residents deserve fair elections and we demand that the new City Council take their fiduciary responsibility seriously and stop wasting our tax dollars fighting the CVRA case.

Maria Loya