By Sandra Emerson, Redlands Daily Facts
Posted: 07/24/14, 11:37 AM PDT | Updated: 46 mins ago
HIGHLAND>> Voters in November will have an opportunity to decide if they want to elect City Council members by district.
The council, at a special meeting Thursday morning, agreed to place the initiative on the ballot in light of the filing of a lawsuit this week over the city’s at-large election system.
“I think me, personally, I don’t want to jeopardize the revenue of the city,” said Councilman John Timmer. “Even though I don’t think it’s good government it’s the political call at this time, I think we need to go forward and give the opportunity to voters to address this issue and tell us what they want.”
Councilwoman Jody Scott was absent.
The council began discussing the proposed resolution after a Malibu-based law firm claiming to represent some minority residents of Highland sent the city a letter threatening to sue if it does not change to a district election format under the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 — which allows minority groups in California to sue a government agency on the basis that their votes are lost in at-large elections.
City Council members have been elected at large, meaning all are voted into office by voters across the city, since it was incorporated in 1987.
The lawsuit was filed July 18 in San Bernardino Superior Court by a Lancaster-based law firm, R. Rex Parris Law Firm, on behalf of Lisa Garrett, a Latino resident of Highland, according to the suit.
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I don’t like districts it leads to gerrymandering safety of political jobs.
However, for, pretty much, the past elections the Immanuel Baptist Church is large enough and white enough to control all elections.
The rest of Highland is completely at their mercy.
All moneys and efforts and improvements are continuously directed to and around the area of that church.
Don’t believe me? Drive anywhere in Highland and then drive around that church.
The city council members are nothing more than employees for that church.
However, because this will be a citywide election- the church will reign again. It’s too bad. IT should not be this way.
Like it or not, All mega church leaders are very smart grifters with zero compassion on what kind of pain they bring to whomever in order to make themselves criminally wealthy.