The California Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments Thursday in a case over whether four former Montebello officials were exercising their free speech rights when voting to award a city contract in which they allegedly had a financial interest.
The case stems from the city council's decision to award the exclusive $150-million contract to waste hauler Athens Services back in 2008. Former council members Rosie Vasquez, Robert Urteaga and Kathy Salazar all voted to approve the agreement, despite purported expectations that the company would contribute to their reelection campaigns. Indeed, Vasquez later received $45,000 in donations from Athens.
The city sued the three ex-council members in 2012 along with then city administrator Richard Torres who had negotiated the contract on the grounds of a conflict of interest. But the defendants filed a motion to strike the city’s complaint, arguing that they had no such financial interest and that their legislative actions constituted protected speech.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu ruled that the case could go to trial, and that decision was upheld by a Court of Appeals panel in 2014. The California Supreme Court will now weigh in on whether the defendants can be sued over their votes, or whether their actions were protected by state law and the U.S. Constitution.
The city is emphatic in its position. The officials’ actions constituted bribery, according to the city’s attorney Raul Salinas, and that is never protected under the law.
“We’re focused on the wrongful conduct of elected officials who allegedly have a conflict of interest,” Salinas said. “[The law] is intended to make sure that elected officials, when they vote, they don’t have divided loyalties.” Losing the case would be “a scary scenario,” he added, “with nothing to prevent the public from holding elected officials accountable for engaging in dealings in which they have a financial interest.”
Read more about City of Montebello v. Vasquez here.
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