By Daniel Larios
June 17, 2014 – Santa
Monica Airport supporters filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed
against a proposed initiative that would make it more difficult to shut
down the century-old airfield.
Santa Monicans for Open and Honest Development Decisions
(SMOHDD) filed a motion Friday to suppress a Strategic Lawsuit Against
Public Participation (SLAPP) filed in May on behalf of 11 Santa Monica
residents that would block the measure from the ballot.
Airport supporters claim that the lawsuit filed by attorney Jonathan Stein against the proposed initiative – which would amend the Santa
Monica City charter to require voter approval for changes made to
Airport land – lacks merit. (“Opposition Mounts to Santa Monica Airport Ballot Initiative,” May 19, 2014)
“Mr. Stein and the SLAPP litigants threw in everything they
could think of and ended up with nothing but meritless claims,” said
Stuart Leviton, the attorney who filed the anti-SLAPP motion.
“But they also made baseless claims that three citizens of
Santa Monica who were brave enough to speak on a public issue had
committed criminal acts,” Leviton said
The lawsuit named Flora Yin, Nikos Kokotakis and Lauren
McCollum, the three Santa Monica residents who originally filed for
the initiative petition, as “real parties in interest.”
According to the lawsuit, the proposed initiative contains
numerous misleading statements, was not vetted properly by City
officials and violates the state Constitution and elections code.
“The SLAPP suit is an outrageous smear against the reputations
of three individuals who have the right to participate in the political
process, even if Mr. Stein doesn’t like it,” Leviton added.
The lawsuit also named the City Council, City Clerk, and City
Attorney as defendants, alleging that the measure was not vetted
properly by City officials.
“Suing the City just adds to a long and costly history of
lawsuits that needs to stop,” said SMOHDD board member John Jerabek.
“The City has wasted millions on lawsuits, and Stein and the SLAPP
litigants are just hitting taxpayers with more legal bills.”
In addition to throwing out the lawsuit, the motion filed
Friday would also recover legal fees and costs from the 11 plaintiffs
represented by Stein.
“It’s an abuse of the SLAPP statute,” Stein told The Lookout.
“It’s a desperate measure and the City really did nine-tenths of the
work for them.”
Airport supporters are also alleging that anti-airport
activists have harassed and intimidated potential signers of the
petition.
Opponents denied the allegation and noted that the proposed
initiative’s main sponsor is the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
(AOPA).
“We don’t get how they’re saying that activists and volunteers
are harassing this big special interest group through their use of the
first amendment,” Stein told The Lookout.
Opponents of the proposed initiative say their efforts to stop
paid signature gatherers from collecting signatures included talking
with potential signers and passing out leaflets explaining the issue
and their opposition.
Last week, proponents of the Airport submitted 15,734 voter signatures to the City Clerk’s office.
To make the ballot, approximately 9,100 signatures from
registered Santa Monica voters will have to be verified by the Los
Angeles County Registrar’s office within 30 days of receiving them. ("Airport Advocates Submit More than 15,000 Signatures," June 11, 2014)
The City Council has the discretion to place the measure, if
it qualifies, on the November ballot or call for a special election,
according to the City Clerk.
The Council, which opposes the measure, has directed staff to
draft a rival measure that would “require voter approval for any
significant change in the use of the land,” but it also “would protect
the City Council’s discretion to manage the Airport.”
The ballot battle was sparked when the City Council
unanimously voted on March 25 to take steps to shut down the airport
when the City’s agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) expires next year.
Two days later, supporters of the century-old airfield
filed paperwork with the City Clerk's office to place an initiative on
the November ballot.
Source: http://www.surfsantamonica.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment