LB City Attorney's Office Urges Appeals Court Not To Grant Ryan Writ on Baker Ballot Designation, Saying Imminent Printing Deadline Means Delay Would Substantially Interfere With Election We post detailed declaration by LB City Clerk's office staffer (February 15, 2002) -- Citing an imminent deadline for printing ballot materials, and attaching a detailed declaration from a City Clerk staffer warning that a delay could substantially interfere with the city's upcoming April election, LB's City Attorney's office filed paperwork today urging the CA Court of Appeals not to grant an appellate writ sought by Mayoral candidate Norm Ryan. Mr Ryan has sought relief in the Court of Appeal to overturn a lower court ruling yesterday that OK'd City Hall's acceptance of Dan Baker's amended ballot description as "Long Beach Councilmember/Vice-Mayor." In materials filed with the Court of Appeal today, the City Attorney's office cited CA Elections Code § 13314 (a)(2)(B) which provides that a writ can only be issued if the "issuance of the writ will not substantially interfere with the conduct of the election." The City Attorney's office also attached a sworn declaration by City Clerk staffer Rebecca Burleson, who is in charge of the city's upcoming April election, specifying reasons why a delay beyond 5:00 p.m. today would substantially interfere with the election. In the public interest, LBReport.com has posted the salient City Attorney paperwork filed with the Court of Appeal including Ms. Burleson's declaration. These can be viewed in pdf form by clicking on City Attorney materials filed with Court of Appeal opposing Ryan appellate writ. There is no legal barrier to City Hall sending the ballot materials out for printing at day's end, unless the Court of Appeals issues a stay. And by 5:00 p.m., the Court of Appeal had apparently not issued a stay. Mr. Ryan sought appellate court relief after an L.A. Superior Court judge yesterday OK'd City Hall's acceptance of an amended ballot description for Mayoral candidate Dan Baker that adds a hyphen and reads "Long Beach Councilmember/Vice-Mayor." The lower court ruled Baker's ballot description does not violate CA Elections Code § 13107, which provides in pertinent part that "immediately under the name of each candidate, and not separated from the name by any line, may appear at the option of the candidate only one of the following designations: (1) Words designating the elective city, county, district, state, or federal office which the candidate holds at the time of filing the nomination documents to which he or she was elected by vote of the people... Among other things, Mr. Ryan challenged the contention that being Vice Mayor was Mr. Baker's "current principal profession, vocation, or occupation." |