response letter from the city of whittier

8/6/2019 Response letter from the city of Whittier

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J MJONES MAYER

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

3777 NORTH HARBOR BOULEVARD FULLERTON CALIFORNIA 92835

714 446 1400 562 697 1751 FAX 714 446 1448

Richard D ones Richard L dams II Michael Q Do Robert KhuuGregory P Palmer

Partners Jamaar Boyd Weatherby Thomas P Duarte Gary S KrankerDanny L Peelman

Martin J Mayer Baron J Bettenhausen Elena Q erliRichard A McFarlane Harold W Potter

Kimberly Hall Barlow ChristianL ettenhausen Katherine M Hardy Christopher

F eumeyer Denise L ocawich

James R Touchstone Paul R Coble Krista MacNevin Jee KathyaM Oiva Ivy M Tsai

a rofessional Law

Corporation

O CounselConsultant

Michael R CapizziMervin D Feinstein

Dean J Pucci

July 28 2011

Morris J Baller

Goldstein Demchak Baler Borgen Dardarian

300 Lakeside Dr Ste 1000Oakland CA 946123536

Joaquin G AvilaNationalVoting Rights AdvocacyInitiative

Re Demandfor compliancewithCaliforniaVotingRightsActCity of Whittier

Gentlemen

Iwrite in re s po n se toyourl e t t e rof J u n e16 2011 Whilew e th an ky o ufory o u rc o n c e r nfo rther igh t sof o u rcitizensw e d on o tbe l i evet ha tt hoser i gh t sareb e i n gv io l a t edb yth eCitysa tlarge e l ec t i ons ys te m o rt ha tth eCi t yis o u tofc omp l i a n c ewithth eCa l i f o r n i aVotingRigh t sAct W eh a v ecarefullyreviewedth eCitys e c o r d sr e g a r d i n gpopulationvotinge l e c t i o nr e s u l t sa n dendorsements for local s t a t ea n dfederalofficesa n dhave found nothing to indicate thatLatino citizensare unable to vote forthe candidates of their choice or that their voting rights arebeing diluted

Y o uma k espec i f i cr e f e r encein y o ur le tte rto th e l ackofe l ec t i onofLa t i noc and i d a t e sinth e2004 2 0 0 6an d2 0 1 0elections First letm ea d v i s ey o uof th em a n ys t e p sth eCityha st a k e nto e n s u r efullparticipationby Latinoan do t h e rminorityvoters Inth em o s tr e c e n telection th eCi t yu n d e r t o o kana s s e s sme n tofitsp rec i nc t sandpopu l a t i o nandd e t e rm i n e dtop r o v i d eSp a n i s hla n g u a g e s e rv ic e scitywideT heCi tycon t a c t edc ommu n i t yg r oup sr e p r e s en t i n gminoritylanguage individuas in Whittier to participatein Voting Rights Act VRA Advisory Groups


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Morris J Baller

Goldstein Demchak Baller Borgen Dardarian

July 28 2011Page 3

c lassesofh i ghs c hoo l swithinth eCityto g iv e s h o rt p r e se n ta tio n so nvo t e r r e g is tr a tio nandth eimpo r t a n c eofvo t i n gin Ci tyCo un c i l e le c t io n sA s r e qu e s t e db yth eCitys d v i s o r yGroupth eCityp r o v i d e da qua r t e rp a g ea d v e r t i s emen tof e l ec t i onin f o rm a t io nto th eAdv i s o r yG r o u pmemb e r sfo rp l a c em e n tin news l e t t e r san d o nbu l l e t i nb o ard s a ndweb s i t e softh eva r i ou sorgan iza t i onstowh i cht heyb e l o n gAlsoadve r t i s emen t sweres en ttoCommu n i t yServ icesfo rp l a c emen tin th equa r t e r l ycou r s ec a t a l o g u ean dto th e w e b s ite sof s c hoo ldistricts

Fo l l ow i n gth eelection th eCitys u rv e y e d r e su ltsto e n su ret ha ta lls t epswe r ef o l l oweda nd th atlim it e dEng l i s hp r o f i c i e n c yv o te r s inparticularb u ta llvoterswe r eg i v e na smu c hass i s tancea spos s i b l eto en su r efullpa r t i c i pa t i onb y a llWhittiercitizens Am o n go t h e rt h i n g sth eCityl e a rnedf romthiss u r v eyt ha ttheded ica t edb i l i ngua le lec t ionl ineatCi tyHa l lr ece ivedn o S pan ish o ro the rm ino r ityl anguagee lec t ioncal l sh ow e v e rtheCitywillcon t i nuetomain t a i nthis line for future elections

In additionelectionr e s u l t sfor locals ta tea n df e d e r a lofficesshow thatWhittiervotersbo thmino r i t yandnonm ino r it yh a ve e le c te da subs tan t ia ln um b e rofLa t inocand i da t e sJu s tb yw ayo fe x amp l ein the2010gene ra le lec t ionfo rCal i fo rn iaAs s emb l yD is t ric t 5 6To n yMe n d o z aw o nth em a jo r it yof vo t e sin th eCi t yofWhittieranda lsow o nth eelection Likewiseinth e2006gene ra le l e c t i onR onCa l d e r o nthem ino r it ycand ida t er e c e i v edmo r evotesin theCitythanhisnonm ino r it yopponen ta n dwonth ee lec t ionTherea r enume rou sLat inoelectedofficialsw h oh a v eb e e ns e l e c t e dbyWhittiervo t e r sof all ethnicbackgrounds includingforCong re s sS t a t eSena t eS t a t eAs s emb l yR io H on doCommun i t yCol legeBo a rd W h ittie rUn ionHighSchoo lDis t r ic tboa rdE a s tW hi tt ie rCitySchoo lDis t r i c tandW hi tt ie rCitySchoo lDis t r i c tOfn ote isth a t th evo t e sfrom differentp r e c i n c t sof th eCitya n dfrom differenta r e a swithvar iab lepercen tagesofL im it e dE ng l is h P r o f ic ie n cyci t izensd on o ts u ppo r ta n yclaimthatthereis raciallypo l a r i z e dvo t i ngin theCity W hi tt ie rvo te r sa r ee lec t ingcand ida teswi t hou tregardto th eethnicityof th e c a n d i d a t e sa n d re g a rd le s softheir ownethnicity

Cityo fW h ittie r s ta ffh a sanalyzedCityCounc i lelect ionsa n do the r e le c tion sc on d u cte d inth eCitytop rov ide h is t o ric a ld a t afo rin fo rmat ionrelatedto th eCal i forniaVot ingRightsA c tO fth e4 3 e lec t ionss umma r i z e db e l owplus 7 no elections no t e dfo rinformationLa t i noc and i d a t e swon or were defeated as follows

22 elections o 51 Latino candidates defeated non Latino candidate

selections o 19 No Latino candidates competed5 elections o 12 Latinocandidates competedagainst each other3 elections o 7 n e of multipleLatino c a n d i d a t e sw a ss u c ce s s fu l a ga in s t n o nLatino candidates4 elections o 9 All Latino candidates were defeated1 election o 2 atino candidate had no competition

43 100


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Morris J Bailer


July 28 2011Page 4

Thus in th e elections in this a r e a involving W hittiervoters 72 of th e time at l e a s to n eLatinocandidate was successful

City Council

2010 Latino candidates were unsuccessful

2008 Latino candidates were unsuccessful2006 Latino candidates wereunsuccessful

2004 Latino candidates were unsuccessful

California Senate District 30

2010 Latino candidate won against a non minority2006 Latino candidatewon against a non minority

California Assembly District 56

2010 Latinocandidate won against a non mnority2008 Latino candidate won against a non minority2006 Latino c a n d i d a t ewon a g a i n s ta nAs i a nminorityc a n d i d a t ein th eG e n e r a lelection a f t e r

defeatingtw o other Latinocandidates in th ePrimaryelection2004 Latino candidate won against a non minority


2010 Latinocandidate won against a non mnority2008 Latinocandidate won against a non mnority2006 Latino c a n d i d a t ewon a g a i n s ta non minorityin th e G e n e r a lafter d e f e a t i n gtwo o t h e r

Latinos and a non mnority candidate in th e Primary race2004 Two Latinos competed


2010 No m inoritycandidates competed2008 No mnority candidates competed2006 An Asian mnority lost to a non minority2004 It appears two non minority candidates competed


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Morris J Bailer

Goldstein Demchak Bailer Borgen Dardarian

July 28 2011Page 5

US CongressionalDistrict 38

2010 Latino candidate won against a non minority2008 Latino candidate won against a non minority2006 Latino candidate won against a non mnority2004 Latino candidate with no competition


2010 Latinocandidate won against a non m inoritycandidate2008 Latinocandidate won against a non m inoritycandidate2006 Latinocandidate won against a candidate believed to a non m inority2004 Two Latino candidates competed


2010 No mnority candidates competed2008 A n o nminorityc a n d i d a t ewon a g a i n s tan As i a nc a n d i d a t ewho h ad d e fe a te dtwo non

minorities in the Primary2006 The non m inoritycandidate had no com peti tion2004 No mnority candidates competed

Rio Hondo Community College Area 2

2007 No election2003 No election


2009 Two Latino candidates competed2005 Two Latino candidates competed


2007 Two Latino candidates competed2003 No election


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Morris J Bailer

Goldstein Demchak Bailer Borgen Dardarian

July 28 2011Page 6


2009 The Latinocandidate won against a non m inoritycandidate2005 The Latinocandidate won against a non m inoritycandidate

Whittier Union Hgh School District

2009 No election2007 One of two Latinocandidates won out of four candidates in a votefor

twor ace

2005 The Latino candidate won as one of four candidates in a vote forthreer ace

2003 The Latino candidate won as one of four candidates in a vote for twor ace

East Whittier School District

2009 No election2007 One of tw oLatino candidates won out of four candidates in a votefor

two race

2005 One of two Latino candidates won out of five candidates in a vote forthree race2003 No election

Whittier City SchoolDistrict

2009 The Latinocandidate won out of four candidates in a vote fo rtwo race2007 No election2005 BothLatino candidates won ou t of four candidates in a vote fo rthree

r ace

2003 TheLatino candidate won out of three candidates in a vote fortwo race

We believe these election statistics show thatLatino candidates have a high rate ofsuccess in excess o 70 where approximately forty percent 40 of registered voters inWhittiera reLatinoo rLimitedEnglishProficient T h e s es t a t i s t i c ss h owthat t h e r eis not raciallypolarizedvoting in the City

Inadditionm a n yp r om i n e n t L a tin oc i t i z ensande l e c t edoff ic ia l sh av e e n d ors e ds om eofth en o nLatino c a n d i d a t e sw h oh a v eprevailedin City electionsF o rexampleCouncilMemberOwen Newcomer was endorsed in the 2004 City Council Eection by the following persons


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Morris J Baller

Goldstein Demchak Baler Borgen Dardarian

July 28 2011Page 7

Cong r e s swomanL ind aS a n c h e zA s s emb l ym a nR onCa l d e r o nAs s emb l ym a nR u d yB e rm u d e zS ta te S e n a to rMarthaEscutiaF o r m e rWhittierCityS c h o o lBoard MemberAlbertoCarrilloWhittierCi t yS c h o o lB o ard M e m b e rJ e nn i f e rd eB a c aWhittierCi t yS c h o o lBo a r dM e m b e rJ a v i e rGo n z a l e sR ioHo n d oCo l l e g eTru s t e eLe oC am a lic h R ioHo n d oCo l l e g eTru s t e eAn d r eQu i n t e r oan dR ioHo n d oCo l l e g eTru s t e eM ic h e lle Ya n e zH ewasa lsoe n d o r s e db yth eWhittierLatinoCoalition In th e2008 City CouncilElectionhe was endorsedbyCon g r e s sw oma nL i n d aS a nc he z C o ng re ss w om a n G r ac eNapo l i t a n oS e n a t o rCh u c kCa l d e r o nA s se m b ly m a n To n yM e n d o z aF o r m e rSta t eS e n a t o rMa r t h aE s c u t i aF o r m e rWhittierCi t ySchoolBoard Mem berAlbertoCarrillo Whittier CitySchoolBoardMem ber Jenniferd e BacaSouthWhittierSchoolBoard MemberDeborahPacheco WhittierUnionHighSchoolMemberBo a r dR a lp h P a ch e coH e re c e iv e dsimilare n d o r s em e n t sin th e 2 00 0CityCouncilelection

CouncilMembersNordbakVinatieriHendersonand MayorWarnerhave also receivednumerous endorsements fromprominent Latinos overth eyears includingendorsements fromth eWhittierLatinoCoalition Indeedmanyof t h e s eendorsements c a m ein electionswhen therewe r eLatinoc a n d i d a t e scompetingfor election CouncilMemberNordbakha sb e e ne n d o r s e dbyDo u gLopezS ilG o n z a le s A n d re aAvilaB o bA p o d a c aB r ya n G o n za le sDe b r aArroyoJ o eVillaescusaDanMartinBillyHernandez BobRocha BobAvila S t e v eHernandez LeoCamalichChico Ram osErnieHernandez GaryCusoVasquez Juan Castro J o eMales JuanGarciaMikeMunoz John Valesquez Dave Lara FernandoDutraJ e a n e t t eZufollaFasoneTe r r yMartinezXa v i e rD eL aP i e d r aJuan i t aTrejeioG ilRo s a sJ o eGironJ a v i e rJiminezJ e f fL o p e zJ e r r yR e y e sJo eVa l v e r d eE i l e e nLongoM i k eC amp i l aM ik e M e n d e zS amMuelaTroy Silva Ralph Pacheco Michelle Yanez and others Mr Henderson has been endorsed byth eWhittierLatinoCoalitiona n d in th e last electionwas e n d o r s e dby AngelaAcosta SalazarP r e s i d e n tof th eR ioHondoCo l l e g eBoard MayorWa r n e rw a se n d o r s e dby th eWhittierLatinoCoalition in 2004

Mr Vinatierih a s also been e n d o r s e dor supportedbymany prom inent Latinoresidentsi n c l ud i ngMarioan dC i n d yC u e v a s D o n a ldAlvaradoJ ayH e rn an d e z R o bb yan dJ e nn i f e rHernandez MarthaRomeroR a n d a l lMartinezDr R a l p hP a c h e c oSilGonzalez SylviaSoutherlandMichaelMunoz RudyCervantesDougLopez a n dR o b e r tSera to n am e afew

In shortw ed onot b e l i e v eth a t th ee l e c t i o ndata populationa n dvoting dataa n do t h e rr e l e v a n tinformationrelatingto votinginWhittiers u p p o r t sa n yclaimth a t th eCityis in violationof th eCaliforniaVotingR i g h t sAct It a p p e a r sthat th eLatinocommunityis ac t i v ein runningfor officeand in both endorsinga n delectingth e candidates of their choice Latino or not Forth is re a s o nit do e sn o ta p p e ar n e ce s s aryfo rth eCi tyto t akean yadd i t i o n a ls t epsto e ns urefairvo t i ngin th eCity R e s ta s s u r e dh o w e v e rt ha tth eCi t ywillcon t i n u ein itslongs t a nd i ngeffortss o m eofwhicha rede t a i l e dabove to e n s u r et h a tinformationre g a r d i n g e le c t io n sis d i s s em i n a t e da swide lya sposs ib l eandt ha ta llc i t i zenso fW hi tt ie rhavefairandequa la cc es s tov o t eru nfo relection and be represented by the individuas o their choice


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Morris J Baller


July 28 2011Page 8

P l e a s edo not hesitate to contactm e should you wish to discuss this matterfurther

Very truly yours

7L1tKimberly Hall BarlowAssistant City Attorney

KHB ag

Cc City CouncilCity Manager

response letter from the city of whittier

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