Judge Rules Gutierrez’s Appointment Violated District Boundary Laws

Moreno Valley’s District 4 Councilman, Yxstian Gutierrez, must leave office by Aug. 5 as ordered by a judge who stood by his tentative ruling July 29 that the councilman was not legally appointed to the seat. Judge Craig Riemer of the Riverside County Superior Court ruled in favor of three District 4 residents who sued Gutierrez on the grounds that he did not reside within the lawful boundaries of District 4 during the time of his appointment and that his appointment in September 2013 by the City Council violated the Brown Act. A statement issued Tuesday, July 29 by Gutierrez said he would be seeking an appeal to the decision. “While I am disappointed in today’s ruling… I have faith in our judicial system to review the case in its entirety,” the statement read. Gutierrez was appointed by the city council during a September 2013 council meeting to represent District 4 after the seat was left vacated by former councilman Marcelo Co, who last August was arrested for accepting a record $2.36 million bribe, to which he plead guilty. The judge held Gutierrez did not reside in District 4 boundaries at the time of his appointment. No mention was made in the ruling of whether Gutierrez’s appointment to the dais—he was sworn in immediately after his appointment—was done as a result of secret meetings between a majority of the council, violating the Brown Act, as several lawyers and Moreno Valley residents, including the plaintiffs in this case, Basil Kimbrew, Radene Ramos Hiers and Deanna Reeder, alleged. Court documents explained that alleged violation of the Brown Act involved “disputed factual issues” and was “therefore not a basis for the instant motion.” The argument rested upon definition of District 4 boundaries. At the time Co was elected in November 2010, Gutierrez’s home was not part of the council district, but after redistricting was done to reflect updated census figures in October 2011, Gutierrez’s home became part of District 4. Judge Riemer sided with the state attorney general in his tentative ruling, saying that the 2010 boundaries remain in effect through the remainder of Co’s term. Riemer used a similar 1942 California Supreme Court Case, Sloan v. Donahue, involving a vacant congressional district seat to make his judgment. Gutierrez and his Los Angeles-based attorneys, Thomas Long and Amber Maltbie, argued that the new boundaries should apply, in order to keep other residents from remaining unrepresented by their council until the November election. “My attorneys and I believe the court misinterpreted the law,” Gutierrez said in a written statement. “Thousands of residents of my neighborhood…were removed from District 3 and not allowed to vote in the November 2012 election, nor the 2010 city council election.” Gutierrez said this “limbo” was “unnecessary and disrespectful to the constitutional rights” of citizens. “It’s public record…Gutierrez has a very poor voting record,” Hiers told the Moreno Valley City News. “It’s ironic that he is fighting for the people’s right to vote when he doesn’t respect his right to vote.” Gutierrez is seeking an appeal for the decision. Hiers said she doesn’t think Gutierrez’s appeal will be granted. “I find it highly unlikely that he will stay after August 5,” she said. Candidate logs show Gutierrez has filed to run for the District 4 seat in the November election.