Early Friday afternoon, December 18, San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge David Cohn approved a motion by the Red Brennan Group to intervene in a lawsuit targeting Measure K, a local government reform effort passed by voters in the November election. Approved by a “supermajority” of county voters, the initiative set total compensation for an elected supervisor to $60,000 per year and limits an elected supervisor to one 4-year term.
Once the election results were certified, the board of supervisors, using taxpayer funds, contracted with an outside firm to sue the county’s own clerk of the board. The initial motion requested a temporary restraining order directed at the clerk to prohibit any effort to implement the law.
The Office of County Counsel is responsible for both defending the clerk of the board and vigorously defending the law on behalf of the voters. However, both in court filings and in open court discussion, county counsel refused to undertake either responsibility. The result was that an initiative approved by more than 66% of county voters was being ignored by the public servants sworn to protect the voters’ interests.
In response, the Red Brennan Group and the Inland Oversight Committee filed motions to intervene in the case. Attorneys for the Red Brennan Group, a local non-profit dedicated to “Big-Hearted Communities and Small Government,” filed a motion to defend the interests of the initiative’s proponent, a local small business owner.
Friday’s hearing started in Judge Cohn’s court and ended in front of Judge Donald Alvarez. Judge Cohn, in accordance with settled law, approved the Red Brennan Group’s motion to intervene. The group’s attorney followed this approval with an immediate request to “paper” Judge Cohn. This is a legal procedure where a party that “believes that he or she cannot have a fair and impartial trial or hearing before the judge” is allowed to shift the case to a different judge.
After moving to the new venue, Judge Alvarez delayed further rulings on the case and scheduled a hearing for the January 28. He will hear both the motion to intervene from the Inland Over Sight Committee and to consider the Board of Supervisors’ temporary restraining order.
