Santa Monica and Malibu activists have filed a lawsuit against the City of Santa Monica to try to force the city to move to district-based elections.
According to a press release issued Tuesday morning, the Pico Neighborhood Association (PNA), Maria Loya and Advocates for Malibu Public Schools (AMPS) filed the suit in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
“In our efforts to improve Malibu public schools, we have become keenly aware of how at-large elections prevent minority groups from having their voices heard. The intentionally discriminatory provision of the Santa Monica City Charter prevents not only the city, but also the Santa Monica-Malibu School District, from adopting district-based elections; we want the school board to be empowered to voluntarily adopt fair elections, and set an example for the students,” Roui Israel, president of AMPS, said.
Loya ran for College Board in 2014 and came in last with 9,242 votes or about 13 percent. Loya also lost a campaign for City Council in 2004, placing seventh out of 16 candidates.
In a statement, Loya said the current system of citywide elections is biased and specifically disenfranchises residents of the traditionally minority-heavy Pico neighborhood.
“As a mother, former city council candidate and resident of the Pico neighborhood, I want to ensure that future elections are fair,” she said. “The current at-large election system is illegal and has led to a lack of representation in local government, which in turn has led to neglect of our community. All residents and every neighborhood can benefit from a neighborhood-centered approach to representative democracy.”
Loya is the wife of School Board member Oscar de la Torre and both are board members of the PNA. AMPS is a Malibu based organization that wants Malibu to withdraw from the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District to create an independent school system.
Despite filing the suit in an election year, de la Torre said the plaintiffs expect the City to take immediate action in advance of this year’s vote.
“We have waited more than 70 years for fair elections and it’s not in the best interest of residents to continue to live under a rigged political system,” he said.
A version of this story previously ran in the Santa Monica Daily Press.