With Election time just around the corner, Stockton Citizens ask Johnston to step down!

Stockton charter is clear, Ralph White is right

The Record got it all wrong. As in many cases, The Record's opinion of Ralph Lee White in pursuit of following the city charter is all wrong ("Court decision brings more turmoil," Sept. 23, The Record).

White, who helped write and supervise the charter, has proven again that he is knowledgeable of how the good old boys, and in this case girls, work in our little backward city. The local San Joaquin County judge who rendered the original decision, should be sent back to school for a course in remedial reading.

The charter is very clear, and if White is a thorn in the side of city hall, then city hall should follow the charter. Ann Johnston is ineligible, and White is a citizen, who saw the law being broken and took action.

Frankly, The Record should be doing what White has done, but instead of having a nose for news, The Record has chosen to attack White by calling him a perennial mayoral candidate. Just so the editorial board knows, any citizen has the right to run for any office as often as they choose to do so.

The Record editorial board should spend its time on improving the quality of the newspaper, because the paper is ambiguous on many of its views.

Larry Thomas
Stockton


Thank you Larry for sharing your thoughts. Most seem to have let my name slip out of the story, because I too am listed in this lawsuit against the mayor and the city. We are grateful you see it our way, but doesn't it seem like this case should be decided soon.

The Record never reports the news as we see it, but rather from their own point of view. I have had a few blurbs in the newspaper as of late, and they were all written out of context, and I was mis-quoted a few times!

I think if we have no ruling by Nov. 5th the only right thing for Ann Johnston to do, would be to drop out. I am saying we the people, need to make sure our bylaws, drafted in the Charter don't get manipulated by anyone. Wish us luck, and remember to vote for Anthony Silva for Mayor!

Judge rules White can proceed with lawsuit challenging Stockton term limits

By The Record
September 18, 2012 12:28 PM
SACRAMENTO – Onetime mayoral candidate Ralph Lee White learned today that he may proceed with his lawsuit challenging Mayor Ann Johnston’s right to seek reelection in a dispute over term limits.

The ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein comes seven weeks before the Nov. 6 election, when Johnston and candidate Anthony Silva square off on the ballot.

The city did not oppose White, but asked that he not be allowed to collect attorney’s fees if he is victorious. Klein agreed.

White sued the city, arguing that the charter allows only two terms in city government. Johnston served two terms on the City Council and seeks a second term as mayor.

Read Wednesday’s Record for more on this story by staff writer Scott Smith.

White to take case against mayor to federal judge

By Scott Smith

Record Staff Writer

August 31, 2012 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - Former mayoral candidate Ralph Lee White this month will ask a federal judge overseeing Stockton's bankruptcy to let him pursue his case against Mayor Ann Johnston over term limits.

White said he believes the city inappropriately lumped the suit he initiated among 54 cases the City Attorney's Office froze under a provision of the U.S. bankruptcy code, which gives the debtor temporary relief while it reorganizes finances.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein on Sept. 18 will hear White in person making his plea to lift the stay against on his suit.

"I will have an opportunity to speak," White said Thursday. "And I will quite naturally speak my mind."

White and the Stockton Black Leadership Council in May took Johnston and the city to court, arguing that the mayor had exceeded the number of terms allowed under the city charter.

The case hinged on Section 606 of the city charter, which says:

          "No person elected as either Mayor or Councilmember shall be eligible to serve, or serve, as either Mayor or Councilmember for more than two (2) terms..."

He will ask Judge Klein to allow him to have Superior Court Judge Holland reconsider his ruling and possibly petition the state's Third District Court of Appeal for a review.

Johnston declined to comment for this story. City officials, who have defended her right to run for a second term as mayor, also had no comment.

Contact Reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or    ssmith@recordnet.com.       Visit his blog 

White, Pitsch, still fighting Ann Johnston's illegally sought Candidacy

By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
August 18, 2012 12:00 AM
STOCKTON - City Hall, under a provision of the federal bankruptcy code that gives debtors a bit of breathing room, has suspended 54 pending lawsuits, mostly those known as trip-and-fall cases.

But Ralph Lee White, a wealthy bail bondsman, former councilman and recent mayoral candidate, said the city has wrongly entangled him with one of those frozen decisions.

White earlier this year sued Stockton and Mayor Ann Johnston, arguing that an ambiguously worded line of the city charter means Johnston has already termed out of office. She was ineligible to seek another term, he said.

Making this argument, White lost his first round in San Joaquin County Superior Court, and he also lost his mayoral bid at the polls in June's primary election.

But White hasn't given up his fight to bring clarification to the city's charter.

He said his case shouldn't be subject to a suspension because he isn't seeking millions in recompense, like other litigants. The city is using its ailing finances as an excuse to skirt his challenge, he said.

"If the charter is our constitution, we have to follow our constitution," White said. "You can't put a stay on our constitution."

White and the Stockton Black Leadership Council originally brought the suit, citing problems they saw in Section 606 of the charter, which dictates term limits. It says:

"No person elected as either Mayor or Councilmember shall be eligible to serve, or serve, as either Mayor or Councilmember for more than two (2) terms ... ."

Johnston, who declined to comment, has served two terms on the City Council and now seeks a second term as mayor.

Superior Court Judge Lesley Holland heard the case in May and ruled in Johnston's favor, while criticizing the charter's language as being less than clear.

After White's courtroom defeat, his attorney, Michael Babitzke, who declined to comment, filed a new writ of mandate under the names of another failed mayoral candidate, Gregory Pitsch, and four other residents.

And then the city on June 28 filed bankruptcy. Officials shortly thereafter invoked the court stays.

City Attorney John Luebberke defended the move against White, saying this provision of the bankruptcy code is to be construed broadly.

The city is not arbitrarily selecting to temporarily stop White's suit or any of the others, he said.

"We're not using it. It's the law," Luebberke said. "We can't pick and choose."

Rather, the city filed notices to let the relevant judges, litigants and their attorneys know of the provision halting the cases. The city has to pay to defend the case, creating a financial burden, Luebberke said, refuting White's claim that his suit doesn't have financial ramifications.

Most of those suspended in Stockton's bankruptcy are tort cases, like trip-and-fall lawsuits filed against the city. Others include employee-related litigation and those arising from scuffles people have had with police officers, Luebberke said.

Among the suits also on hold is one filed by former Deputy City Attorney Lori Whittaker, who in 2009 accused then-Stockton City Attorney Ren Nocky of sexual harassment.

Another stay applies to the city's legal battle with the Stockton Police Officers' Association over millions in pay cuts the city imposed on its officers. But the association's Sacramento attorney, David E. Mastagni, said police had no problem with the suspension.

"We're working with the city to get a contract," he said. "We agreed to have ... the whole case stayed."

But White, who suspects foul play is at work in his case, may have a good argument, said Riverside attorney Franklin Adams, a partner of Best Best & Krieger LLP.

The bankruptcy code allows for stays on certain cases to prevent a rush by creditors to the courthouse with everybody wanting to collect. Adams said that based on his limited knowledge of the case, White wants a ruling on the city charter and nothing more.

"I don't think that's what the stay was intended to prevent," Adams said.

If White wanted his advice, Adams said he would suggest approaching U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein, who is overseeing Stockton's Chapter 9, and ask for a "comfort order."

Under such an order, White could ask the judge to send his case back to the San Joaquin County Superior Court, and then return it to the federal bankruptcy court with a resolution, Adams said.

"Some bankruptcy judges are willing to do that," he said.

White argues that if the incumbent mayor beats challenger Anthony Silva on Nov. 6, and if a court later were to rule that Johnston is ineligible to serve, the city will have the expense of holding a special election.

"I ain't asking for no money," he said. "There's no money there to be asked for."

Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or ssmith@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at