District elections lawsuit is tossed out

Former Modesto mayor revises claim that the city illegally influenced voters

By ADAM ASHTON
aashton@modbee.com

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A Stanislaus County Superior Court judge has rejected former Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino's claim that the city illegally spent public money on a voter education campaign.

Sabatino and attorney Frank Carson have filed an amended complaint in the lawsuit to press the claim despite Judge Roger Beauchesne's decision to dismiss the lawsuit.

Beauchesne on Thursday held that Sabatino "failed to state facts sufficient" to support his assertion that the Modesto City Council this fall sought to advance its political preferences with a push to inform voters about a two-part advisory measure that asked whether the city should adopt district elections.

Modesto Bee - Carmen Sabatino.

The measure succeeded, with voters in November favoring a switch to district races for City Council elections and supporting a "pure" method that would divide the city into six districts for those campaigns. The election results are subject to a binding vote Feb. 5.

Sabatino and the city were expected to be in court Friday, but they chose not to attend the hearing after Beauchesne issued his tentative ruling. Beauchesne had given Sabatino 20 days to revise the lawsuit.

In the run-up to the November election, Sabatino charged that the council was wasting money and trying to confuse voters by placing the advisory question on the ballot.

Sabatino supports district elections, and wanted the council to place a binding measure on the November ballot instead of the two-part question that voters saw.

He further claimed that the second district elections format that appeared on the ballot was a ploy designed to maintain the influence of developers over citywide elections. That method would have divided the city into six districts, but also would have added two citywide council positions, giving Modesto eight elected council members in addition to the mayor.

Campaign cost about $48,000

The council mailed to voters a letter titled "Which Way Modesto?" describing the two district election formats. Sabatino claimed that letter was slanted to deter voters from choosing the "pure" system that won the advisory election.

In court records, Modesto countered that the purpose of the letter was purely informational.

The education campaign cost about $48,000, according to court records. It consisted of the $32,700 mailer, and other costs to hire a consultant, buy advertisements and host public meetings.

To comment, click on the link with this story at www.modbee.com. Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.