Pasadena Settles Voting Rights Fight With MALDEF

PASADENA, TX — A lawsuit that divided the City of Pasadena along racial lines and mired the city in a costly and embarrassing legal fight ended Tuesday night when the Pasadena City Council mercifully agreed to settle with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The settlement leaves the city on the hook to pay legal and attorney’s fees to the sum of $1.1 million. (Want to get daily news updates and other events going on in your area? Sign up for the free Pasadena Patch morning newsletter.)

READ: Pasadena Moves To Settle Voting Rights Lawsuit

The lawsuit, which was filed in 2014, accused the city of diluting Hispanic votering power via its voting scheme spearheaded by former Mayor Johnny Isbell and passed by Pasadena voters in 2013.

Over the course of the lawsuit, the city piled up more than $3 million in legal fees and placed the city in a negative national spotlight, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The city finally went to court in late 2016, and lost in a district court ruling where Judge Lee Rosenthal said the city violated the Voting Rights Act.

The city appealed to the 5th Circuit in February, and lost once again, and was considering a second appeal, but opted to wait until after the May 2017 election.

The settlement was recommended by Mayor Jeff Wagner last month, and was applauded by those on the council who butted heads with Isbell, who was at the center of the controversy.

“While the city disagrees with the district court’s conclusions and believes that the challenged election system had neither the intent nor the effect of discriminating, it is time to put this three years of litigation behind us,” Wagner said in a statement. “I think settling the suit is good for all the people of Pasadena and will help us achieve the goal of uniting all of our citizens.”.

Councilman Cody Ray Wheeler, who served on the council with Isbell, applauded the settlement and the prospect of moving forward.

Nina Perales, MALDEF vice president of litigation said the organization was happy to see this case come to a successful end praised Wagner for moving forward to resolve the legal issue.

“The settlement ensures that Pasadena will have an election system that is fair for all of its voters,” Perales said in a statement. “After years of litigation, we appreciate the efforts of Mayor Wagner, elected this year, to reach a resolution of the case and to bring finality and stability to future Pasadena elections.”

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