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Attorney tells Palmdale council CVRA blocks legal route to at‑large mayor; residents promise ballot push
Summary
Attorney Kevin Shankman told the Palmdale City Council that California law and case precedents make restoring any at‑large elected position — including a mayor elected by the whole city — legally infeasible while the city uses a five‑district plan. Residents voiced disagreement and some said they will pursue a ballot petition.
Kevin Shankman, an attorney who has litigated voting‑rights cases in California, told the Palmdale City Council on Oct. 7 that current state law and court decisions bar the city from restoring any at‑large elected seat while it remains under a five‑district plan.
Shankman spent a 10–15 minute presentation outlining the three legal elements used to show a California Voting Rights Act violation — an at‑large method of election, racially polarized voting and vote dilution — and reviewed federal and state cases that shaped the law. He said the city’s move to five districts after litigation (Howeradee v. City of Palmdale) and subsequent state legislation (cited in presentation as…
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