PALMDALE – The League of Women Voters Antelope Valley will host a Palmdale City Council debate on Thursday as part of their debate series for candidates participating in local elections scheduled for Nov. 5.
The Palmdale City Council debate will take place at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Chimbole Cultural Center, 38350 Sierra Highway in Palmdale. Patsy Cisneros will serve as moderator of the debate, and the candidates include incumbent Tom Lackey, along with challengers Sir Daniel Duplechan, Richard Loa, and Fred Thompson.
The League, which is non-profit and non-partisan, will allow audience members to submit questions for the candidates on 3×5 cards to the moderator.
The League of Women Voters Antelope Valley will also facilitate a Mayor of Palmdale debate 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8 at the Chimbole Cultural Center, 38350 Sierra Highway in Palmdale. The moderator for this event will be Vivian Komori, and the candidates include incumbent Jim Ledford, along with challengers Maggie Campbell, Lynn Marie Minidis and Mitcheal Toles.
For more information on the League, visit the group online at http://www.lwvav.org. Citizens may also reach the organization at 661-274-1277, or write them at League of Women Voters Antelope Valley,
2724 Sandstone Court, Palmdale, CA 93551.
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With the League’s City Council debate aside, Palmdale’s election has not been without controversy.
In a Sept. 19 news release from the City of Palmdale, city officials notified the public that Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris had filed an injunction to stop the Palmdale municipal election, claiming that a minority candidate could not be elected under Palmdale’s at-large voting system.
“This decision just provides further proof that Parris and (attorney Kevin) Shenkman are only interested in gouging the taxpayers to line their pockets,” Palmdale City Attorney Matt Ditzhazy said in the news release. “There are four candidates vying for two seats: Tom Lackey, Fred Thompson, Sir Daniel Duplechan, and Richard Loa. Three of the four candidates are minorities. That means at least one and possibly two minority candidates will be elected to the Palmdale City Council in November.”
Shenkman and Parris originally sued the City of Palmdale under the California Voting Rights Act claiming that the existence of racially polarized voting in the City prevented minority candidates from being elected, according to the city.
Palmdale currently utilizes an at-large system for its elections, as does Lancaster and the vast majority of California cities.
“Shenkman and Parris, purportedly to increase the likelihood that a minority candidate is elected, are petitioning the court to force the City to halt any election until the City uses a district method, like the City of Los Angeles,” stated the release, explaining that Shenkman and Parris are attempting to stop an election where at least one minority candidate is “essentially guaranteed to win a seat” on the City Council.
“Certainly this latest move doesn’t comport with their stated ‘dubious’ litigation goal of bringing a minority voice to the Council,” said Ditzhazy. “However, it does keep the ‘meter running’ on the attorney’s fees they hope to exact from the taxpayers.”
According to the city, Shenkman and Parris are embroiled in voting rights lawsuits with the City of Palmdale, City of Santa Clarita, Santa Clarita Community College District and Sulphur Springs School District.
“Parris has yet to join Shenkman in a voting rights lawsuit against the Lancaster School District, perhaps fearing a backlash from his voting public,” the city release stated.
