A judge from LA Superior Court approved a restraining order that prevents former council member Herb Wesson’s appointment to fill the 10th district vacancy. The order follows a lawsuit from The Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California that demanded the reinstatement of councilor Mark Ridley-Thomas. The Los Angeles City Council suspended Ridley-Thomas last year. Ridley-Thomas served as the executive director of SCLC-SC for a decade too.
While the council suspended him after accusations of his involvement in a recent bribery scheme, he may come back to it if absolved of all allegations.
SCLC-SC stated that the council should never have suspended Ridley-Thomas and that he would need to produce satisfactory grounds for Wesson to avoid filling that vacant seat.
As per Pastor William Smart, there is a chance to defend equal protection, voting rights, representation accountable to constituents, and the assumption of innocence. Smart also said that people in America deserve and are entitled to certain fundamental rights. As for Smart, voters from the 10th district approached the court against LA Council and Councilor Nury Martinez for the above-mentioned reasons.
Commenting on the decision of the judge, the lawyer of Ridley-Thomas, Michael Proctor, stated that the council failed to listen to voters from the district. Proctor stated that one of the primary concerns of Ridley-Thomas has long been to ensure that the council and Martinez take action without paying heed to those voters. Proctor also said that the US court system listened to the concerns of those voters. Proctor added that if the voters wish to stand up and be counted, they should fight for the same. According to Proctor, it is the lesson for District 10 constituents.
The city council also voted to appoint Wesson on a temporary basis, and the erstwhile councilor was already inducted into office through an oath.
The order from the court will be invalid at 01:30 pm on March 17, 2022, a week following a hearing about the show cause order.