Romero v. City of Pomona, CV 85-3359 JMI (Gx).
| Decision Date | 20 July 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. CV 85-3359 JMI (Gx).,CV 85-3359 JMI (Gx). |
| Citation | 665 F. Supp. 853 |
| Parties | Dr. Gloria J. ROMERO, Willie E. White, Joseph Lee Duncan, Tomas Ursua, and Harold Webb, Plaintiffs, v. The CITY OF POMONA; G. Stanton Selby, Mayor of the City of Pomona; Vernon M. Weigand, Councilman District 1; E.J. Gaulding, Councilman District 2; Donna Smith, Councilperson District 3; Mark Nymeyer, Councilman District 4; all in their official capacities as members of the City Council of the City of Pomona, California, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Central District of California |
John E. Heurta, Gronemeier, Barker and Huerta, Pasadena, Cal., Antonia Hernandez, Linda J. Wong, Phil Trevino, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiffs.
Rolando L. Rios, Jose Garza, San Antonio, Tex., William L. Garrett, Dallas, Tex., John E. McDermott, McDermott, Will & Emery, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants.
Patrick J. Sampson, City Atty., William E. Dennis, Deputy City Atty., Pomona, Cal., for City of Pomona.
This matter is before the Court following a nonjury trial held on June 17, 1986 to June 24, 1986. After the close of plaintiffs' case-in-chief, the defendants moved to dismiss the action pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The Court directed the parties to submit briefs addressing the factual and legal issues raised. The briefs have been received and oral argument was heard thereafter. The matter is now ripe for decision.
The plaintiffs in this action are five hispanic and black residents of the City of Pomona, California. The defendants are the City of Pomona, and the five members of the Pomona City Council. The plaintiffs allege that the at-large system of electing members of the Pomona City Council unlawfully dilutes hispanic and black voting strength in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended in 1982, 42 U.S.C. § 1973. Further, they allege that the at-large system has been maintained for a racially discriminatory purpose in violation of their Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment rights and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The plaintiffs seek (1) a declaratory judgment that the at-large system of electing members of the Pomona City Council unlawfully dilutes hispanic and black voting strength; (2) an injunction prohibiting the holding of future City Council elections under the at-large system; and (3) the replacement of the at-large system with a plan whereby all five City Council members would be elected from wards or single-member districts.
A motion to certify this action as a class action was denied by Order of October 22, 1985.
The defendants' motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) is GRANTED based upon the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.
The plaintiffs are Dr. Gloria J. Romero, Willie E. White, Joseph Lee Duncan, Tomas Ursua and Harold Webb. Dr. Gloria J. Romero and Tomas Ursua are hispanic, and Willie E. White, Joseph Lee Duncan, and Harold Webb are black. The defendants are the City of Pomona, and each of its five current City Councilmembers—G. Stanton Selby, Mayor of the City of Pomona; Vernon M. Weigand, Councilman District 1; E.J. Gaulding, Councilman District 2; Donna Smith, Councilperson District 3; and Mark Nymeyer, Councilman District 4. All present City Councilmembers are white. The City of Pomona is a municipal corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of California.
According to the 1980 census, the City of Pomona has a total population of 92,742 persons, of whom 30.5% or 28,287 have hispanic surnames, 18.6% or 17,250 are black, and 46.7% or 43,318 are white. The remaining 4.2% are of other ethnic backgrounds. According to a 1984 update by the census bureau, the total population was 97,998 persons, of whom 30.5% or 29,889 were Spanish and 19% or 18,620 were black.
As of April 16, 1985, and according to the Los Angeles County Register of Voters, the total number of registered voters in the City of Pomona was 41,486. Voters of Spanish origin are identified by Spanish surname in accordance with the list of Spanish surnames provided by the census. The number and percentage of black registered voters is impossible to calculate because they are not identified as such on the voter registration rolls.
The City of Pomona was incorporated as a "general law" city in 1888. At that time, its local election system was mandated by state law. From 1888 to 1911, the method of electing the City Trustees (the equivalent of City Council Members) was controlled by the California Municipal Corporations Act of 1883. The Act required that the Board of Trustees consist of five members and that each be elected at-large.
In 1911, Pomona's electorate adopted Pomona's own City Charter, making Pomona a "charter city" free to choose its own method of electing its governing body. The City of Pomona's 1911 Charter continued the 23 year old practice of electing five members to its governing body pursuant to at-large voting by providing for a City Council consisting of five councilmembers, one of whom was the Mayor, and each of whom was elected at-large.
The at-large election system contained in Pomona's 1911 Charter, which was mandated by then-existing state law for non-charter general law cities of Pomona's size, was a prominent feature of the progressive era. Under the 1911 Charter, the City was divided into four districts. Furthermore, except for the mayoral slot, the Charter has a residency requirement. It requires that each councilmember must reside in the district that he is running in and file for that designated post. The 1911 Charter also contains a "majority vote" requirement which provides that, to be elected, a candidate must receive the support of a majority of all of the voters of the city. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the primary election, then a run-off is held in the general election between the two candidates who received the most votes in the primary. The term of office for the mayor of Pomona is two years. The term of office for the other four councilmembers is four years. Elections for the four councilmembers are staggered, with races for two of the four seats alternately occurring in March and April of each oddnumbered year. Thus, every two years, the voters in Pomona are able to participate in the election of the mayor and two City councilmembers.
Since the institution of the at-large electoral system in 1888, two hispanics have been elected to the Pomona City Council. Bill Herrera was elected to the City Council in 1967, and Ben Ochoa was elected to the City Council in 1973 and 1977. A black has not been elected to the City Council. There have been eleven (11) blacks that have run for office in fourteen (14) campaigns, but they have been defeated in run-off elections. Monroe Jones was defeated in 1973 and Willie White in 1983. In both the 1965 and 1981 primary, Joseph Duncan, a Black, received the highest number of votes in his district, but lost city-wide. Since 1977, no minority has been elected to the Pomona City Council.
A Charter Revision Committee was formed in 1963 to make recommendations concerning a new Charter for the City of Pomona. The Charter Revision Committee considered the question of whether Pomona councilmembers should be elected from wards or at-large. The Committee also considered whether Pomona should have five, seven or nine councilmembers. The recommendation of the Charter Revision Committee was to maintain the current at-large system of electing councilmembers with a geographic residency requirement. The Committee further recommended that the Council continue to consist of five councilmembers, one of whom would be the mayor. At least two Spanish-surnamed individuals were members of the Charter Revision Committee. These individuals were Candelario Mendoza and Manuel Jara. Mr. Mendoza served on the Charter sub-committee which unanimously recommended that the City maintain its at-large method of electing councilmembers. Mr. Jara also voiced his support for the at-large system.
In 1965, the voters of Pomona approved a new City Charter replacing the 1911 Charter, as amended. The new Charter incorporated many of the recommendations of the Charter Revision Committee, including the retention of a five person City Council to be elected at-large. In 1971-1972, the Pomona City Council considered the question of whether to adopt a ward system for electing city councilmembers. In 1972, the voters of Pomona, by a vote of 13,701 to 11,891, rejected the substitution of a ward system for its at-large method of electing City Council members.
The at-large election system continues to be in effect today.
In Thornburg v. Gingles, ___ U.S. ___, 106 S.Ct. 2752, 92 L.Ed.2d 25 (1986), the United States Supreme Court construed, for the first time, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended June 29, 1982, 42 U.S.C. § 1973. In determining whether voter dilution has occurred, the Court held that the minority plaintiff must meet three preconditions to show that an at-large election system, as in the instant case, can be held to be dilutive of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote. The plaintiff must prove geographic compactness, political cohesiveness, and racial bloc voting to show that an at-large election system violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
A minority group must be sufficiently large and geographically compact to constitute a majority in a single-member district.1 A single-member district includes only those individuals who are eligible to vote. The defendants contend that the hispanics and blacks do not vote as one cohesive group and therefore must be considered separately in determining whether each is a...
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