Gadfly or David vs Goliath, Maria Loya sues for voting districts

By Ryan Zepeda and Michael Ashcraft --

The case to divide Santa Monica into voting districts moves one step closer to resolution Tuesday, as Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos makes sure all final briefs are in order in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

The suit is protagonized by Maria Loya, who says her Pico Neighborhood has never had an elected council member but has suffered as the dumping grounds for so many undesirable projects: the recycling center, the freeway, a covered-over city dump that seeps methane gas.

“We live in a Toxic Triangle because of the toxicity and pollution, and in the middle you have residents,” Loya says. “The assumption is that the poor people and people of color don’t have the political clout, and that’s why they dump on these neighborhoods.”

To lead her case, Loya recruited Malibu attorney Kevin Shenkman, a star lawyer who deploys the California Voting Rights Act to force small cities in the state to abandon the historic city-wide elections in favor of districts.

After the City of Palmdale lost to Shenkman in 2013, about 40 small California cities have capitulated and voluntarily submitted to re-districting because the CVRA stipulates that losing cities must pay plaintiffs’ lawyers fees. In the case of Palmdale, Shenkman’s fees were $4.5 million. A simple letter from Schenkman has sufficed to persuade cities to overhaul their elections.

But the City of Santa Monica felt that it had the resources and the reason to fight the suit. At the time, the city’s mayor was the Latino, Tony Vasquez, and Latinos and African Americans could be found on the rent control board, the board of education and community college board. City attorneys have argued re-districting would “dilute” Latino voting since Hispanics, comprising 13 percent of the city’s population, are scattered in all neighborhoods.

Discrimination is rooted in history, Loya counters. In the 1950s, there were “restrictive covenants” corralling people of color into the Pico Neighborhood. Then in 1966, the I-10 was routed through the Pico Neighborhood bringing noise and pollution and dividing neighbors, as represented by the Stewart Underpass mural.

Deidre Pfeiffer researched in 2007 into the Pico Neighborhood for a master’s thesis in Urban Planning at UCLA, and she found plenty to suggest that re-districting might benefit the Pico Neighborhood. She conducted surveys that unearthed discontent:

“I don’t think that we’re represented,” said Billy. “We don’t have one person from the so-called Pico neighborhood on City Council.”

“We’re getting the short end of the stick of essential city services,” Greg agreed. “We’re always last in line.”

“We don’t like how the city treats the neighborhood,” said Susan. “We’re a big dumping ground for the city. They think, ‘We have one ethnically-diverse neighborhood, but thank God we don’t live here!’”

Loya alleges that recent remodeling in the Gandara Park is a masked attempt by the City of Santa Monica to cover up dangerous seepage of methane gas. The park, she says, was built over a city dump. A water fountain was replaced by a swing set, and the baseball “clubhouse” is going to be torn down. City officials did not return a 4:00 p.m. phone call Monday to address the allegation.

Gandara Park, formerly called Stewart Park, is in the Pico Neighborhood.

There’s definitely been progress in Pico Neighborhood from two or three decades ago. Virginia Park, once a hub for gang activity, was remodeled in 2006, but it took 20 years of talking to finally get it done, the master’s thesis states.

The Pico Neighborhood has experienced something of a Renaissance in recent years with an influx of investment and new, well-heeled neighbors. While diving crime rates and spruced up streets are welcome, rising prices from gentrification are driving out poorer residents, who weathered the hard times and now can’t enjoy the good, Loya says.

As a member of the Pico Neighborhood Association, Loya has fought for a re-zoning ordinance to help preserve the historical beauty of the area, but the City of Santa Monica has dragged its feet on bringing forth favorable zoning changes, she says.

Loya ran for city council in 2004 and lost, even though she won every precinct in the Pico Neighborhood. She says the election was “racially polarizing.”

Voters in Santa Monica twice rejected ballot measures to change to districts -- in 1975 and again in 2002, according to an opinion piece in the LA Times penned by Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer in July of this year.

“Making electoral changes based on lawsuits instead of the will of voters diminishes rather than enhances voting rights,” Winterer wrote. “A united Santa Monica has been able to tackle large issues, including crime, homelessness, affordable housing, mobility, economic growth, educational opportunity and community well-being.

“We work hard to accomplish a lot, in part because council members are accountable to every Santa Monica voter every two years,” he added. “With district elections, residents would be represented by only one council member, who would face election only once every four years.”

Marcela Tavakoli, an assistant at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, says she won’t know when Judge Palazuelos, after reviewing briefs Tuesday, will issue her final superior court decision.

When she does, it will demonstrate either Santa Monica’ common sense or hubris. Attorney Shenkman has yet to lose a case.

Should Loya win, she will be transformed from gadfly into a David vs. Goliath.

Read about Judge Palazuelos final decision about voting districts in Santa Monica here.

Pictured: Maria Loya in Gandara Park where a pending project on the baseball "clubhouse" she thinks is a city coverup of methane seepage from the landfill buried underneath. Also: Loya in front of the Stewart Street Freeway Underpass mural.

Ryan Zepeda worked on this article as an assignment for the Lighthouse Christian Academy's journalism class. Michael Ashcraft is the journalism instructor.