Berkeley City Council members: Stop suing yourself, your citizens, and your staff! Find a compromise redistricting map, stop wasting taxpayer money on lawyers, and don't make law-abiding citizens pay legal fees to defend themselves.
Why is this important?
The Berkeley City Council's new redistricting map, voted in by a 6-3 vote, was quickly overturned by a popular referendum – Berkeley citizens were unhappy that it split neighborhoods, divided UC Berkeley students along conservative and progressive lines, and made it very likely that one of the few *truly* progressive Council members we have would *not* be re-elected.
Now the Council majority (those in favor of the new map) is trying to enforce its will by hiring a private law firm to sue its citizens and other members of the City Council and city staff.
This is not how democracy is supposed to work, especially in a town like Berkeley! Find an acceptable compromise map, and don’t make citizens who are participating in the democratic process pay wasteful legal fees.
