Guest Opinion | Rene Amy: All Politics Is, Indeed, Local

It’s rightly been called “an assault on democracy” — the effort by President Donald Trump to keep states from certifying the results of the recent election. After all, if the results aren’t certified, the results aren’t final, and legally it’s like the election never took place.

Only a despot would sneak around and try to skirt verified election results, right?

Well, strange as it might seem, here in Pasadena, city officials did just exactly that not so very long ago.

I know, because I was the guy who called them out on their chicanery, and found myself in what became a truly-gut-wrenching legal battle as the result.

It all had to do with a “good government” initiative (Measure B) that was on the local ballot back in March 2001. In an effort to clean up government and quid pro quo deals, it made it illegal for city officials to leave public office and immediately go to work for someone to whom they’d given a public benefit.

Pretty simple, but it was anathema to local politicians. Tell them what they can and can’t do? No frickin’ way!

Perhaps not too surprisingly, members of the Pasadena City Council and the city’s mayor (who often couldn’t see eye-to-eye on simple matters) were united in their opposition to the measure. They made all sorts of claims in an effort to persuade local voters that their liberal-leaning, progressive city was not a hotbed of corruption, and that it would be a mistake to pass the measure.

But, pass the measure the voters did — with over 60 percent voting in favor.

One would think that that would be the end of the matter — except.

Except, for the measure to become law and take effect, the Pasadena City Clerk would have do her “ministerial duty” (her legally-mandated job) and certify the election results to the California Secretary of State.

That’s the way these things go, and it’s been the law for decades.

Someone’s gotta do the final bit of paperwork and file the right forms — both locally and at the national level.

There was never a question as to the legitimacy of the election, or of the results, but the City Clerk didn’t do her job — because she’d been explicitly directed by city officials to ignore the law and to not certify the results.

My involvement began not because I supported the measure — quite the contrary. I believe that I voted against it, with the idea that more bureaucracy wouldn’t be a good idea.

Instead, nearly a year after the election, I was contacted by a local reporter seeking my thoughts (as a public-interest activist) about the fact that the new law still wasn’t law. It was all very much news to me — truly shocking news.

I personally couldn’t believe that a government official would so blatantly ignore the will of voters like that — let alone that a local city council would have the audacity to so conspire.

My involvement began by sending a letter demanding that the City Clerk do her job – which was promptly rebutted.

That quickly led to a public-interest lawsuit on my part to compel her to do what she was required to do — file that final piece of paperwork and let the voice of the people finally be heard.

City officials wrapped themselves in the flag of protecting the public from itself, arguing that if the measure was allowed to become law, it would be unconstitutional.

Which it might have been — except the process for resolving such a question would occur after it became law, not in the middle of the process.

Shortly after my lawsuit was filed, the city countersued me, claiming that if I thought the City Clerk should do her job, I must therefore think that the measure was indeed constitutional, and therefore, I’d be the party responsible for defending that issue in court.

News of that filing against me reached me after hours on a Friday evening, making for an exceptionally tense weekend at the family home. 

My pro bono attorney assured me that the city’s move was a SLAPP (“strategic lawsuit against public participation”) suit and that he’d so inform the city the following Monday, with a demand that it be dropped.

SLAPP suits have a terrible, crushing history in California, and in the past were used by major corporations to destroy whistleblowers — or, in Pasadena’s case, to force a thorn in their side to withdraw. 

Fortunately for me and my family, SLAPP suits were made illegal, and can carry penalties, including punitive damages for those who file them against persons acting in the public interest.

My attorney was right — and the city did drop the filing shortly thereafter, but again, for several days the potential costs of defending such a huge lawsuit meant that time around the dinner table was particularly fraught.

And, while the court ordered the City Clerk to do her job and certify the results as I sought, the city continued on its legal battle against the measure, ultimately spending well over $700,000 in taxpayer funds.

My own part in the process ended with the court’s order, but the sponsors of the measure intervened in the case and battled the city as to the constitutional question.

Ultimately, the appellate court found the measure to be constitutional, and city officials have been required to follow the law since.

Strangely enough, there never seemed to be any real public outrage over this attempt to defraud voters and ignore the election results. News reports and an editorial or two excoriating public officials, yes, but no real outrage from the public.

While the world watches Donald Trump flail around seeking to continue in his delusions, we should remember that all politics is, indeed, local.

Years ago, Pasadena’s leaders aptly demonstrated that particular truism by working to subvert the law just as Mr. Trump is trying to do today.

René Amy continues his decades of public-interest activism in Altadena and is a recent recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award.