The Yakima City Council unanimously ended a four-year fight Tuesday over how the city elects its representatives by ending its appeal of a voting rights lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union.
In a 6-0 vote, with Councilwoman Maureen Adkison absent, the council withdrew its appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, ending a case it had spent more than $1.1 million defending and will now pay the ACLU $1.8 million as part of a federal court order.
“This is a $3 million reminder” that all residents should have a say in who represents them, Mayor Avina Gutierrez said.
The lawsuit resulted in a federal judge ruling that Yakima’s council elections should be held by district last year, including two majority Latino districts on the city’s east side. No Latino had ever been elected to the council prior to those elections, but three Latino candidates won their districts in 2015.
The former City Council last year appealed the judge’s ruling in hopes that a U.S. Supreme Court redistricting case would support the city’s arguments. On Monday the court unanimously rejected the case out of Texas and took away what legal footing the city had left to argue.
There was little discussion — but a lot of smiles — before each council member voted to end the appeal. Councilman Bill Lover said it’s important the city use Tuesday’s vote as a launchpad into a better future.
“Our actions will set positive trends that will be enjoyed by future council members and citizens,” Lover told the council. “Let this action be the beginning of it.”
The city did agree to a settlement with the ACLU in which about $10,000 in interest accrued on the $1.8 million court order will be waived, as well as additional attorney fees and costs accrued by the plaintiffs in the 10 months since that court order came last June.
The ACLU will also donate $100,000 back to the city for programs “to promote equity and equal opportunity for the residents of Yakima,” Senior Assistant City Attorney Helen Harvey said. The terms of that agreement would have to be agreed upon by both sides at a later date before the money is donated, Harvey said.
Community activists at Tuesday’s meeting also wanted to focus on the future. Yakima resident Nick Marquez, who previously helped organize rallies opposing the city’s legal fight, called it “a joyous occasion.”
“We shouldn’t have had to fight this hard, but fairness is never given by asking,” Marquez said. “Fairness has always been a fight.”
The long term implications of the case remain to be seen, but it has been watched in many areas of the state. For cities with growing Latino populations such as Wenatchee and Pasco, the latter of which has been contacted by the ACLU about its elections, similar reforms could take place in order to avoid costly litigation.
In Olympia, the case has been a key influence in drumming up legislative support for a state Voting Rights Act, which advocates say would prevent costly legal battles and better facilitate negotiations between local governments and concerned residents. The bill has passed the Democratic state House in two consecutive sessions, but died both times in the Republican-held Senate.
In a statement to the Yakima Herald-Republic on Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee said the legal fight and the changes in Yakima will continue to influence the discussion.
“It’s not yet clear what the legacy of this case will be which is why I was disappointed that the Legislature, once again, failed to pass the state Voting Rights Act this year which would have strengthened the ability of people in every community to have their voice heard,” Inslee said. “In Washington, we must continue to move forward and protect enfranchisement for everyone.”
Community activist Vickie Ybarra, a former Yakima School District board member and legislative candidate who was also involved in protests against the case, said there were “sad and regrettable incidents” in the last four years that opened wounds in the Latino community. However, Ybarra said it was ultimately a victory for the whole community.
“From the big picture perspective it’s all part of a struggle. A struggle for equity and equality,” said Ybarra, who now works in Olympia. “We saw the community come to terms with the changes that have happened in not just last three years but 50 years.”
The case was brought in 2012 by Yakima residents Rogelio Montes and Mateo Arteaga, who said the city’s old hybrid system of district and at-large elections denied Latinos a voice in government. The ACLU argued the system itself — adopted in the 1970s — was not discriminatory, but that a record of racially polarized voting regularly helped defeat the candidates of choice for Latino voters in citywide general elections.
Yakima’s population was 41 percent Latino as of the 2010 U.S. Census, and demographers only expect that to grow in the coming decades.
Representatives of the state chapter of the ACLU did not return calls Tuesday.
In other business, the council adopted cuts to the general budget to address a $750,000 projected annual shortfall, but rejected a proposal to drastically hike fees for a children’s summer playground program. The daily program at Kissel Park run by the city charges $20 per child for the season, and serves about 100 annually, but staff had recommended increasing that fee to $300 with the expectation of generating $30,000 in new revenue.
The council instead voted 5-1 to increase the fee to $40, which would generate an additional $2,000 in revenue. Councilwoman Kathy Coffey was the lone no vote.
Interim City Manager Jeff Cutter said he and staff would take a further look at where to cut the budget by about $26,000 to meet the remaining budget shortfall.
The next City Council meeting will be at 10 a.m. on April 12 at City Hall in the council chambers.