A dispute over ballot arguments opposing Measure C — the proposed parcel tax supporting the Davis public schools that will go before local voters in March — ended up in Yolo Superior Court on Thursday morning.

At issue were several sentences in the ballot arguments submitted by Measure C opponents Jose Granda and Thomas Randall Jr., who have opposed other school parcel taxes in recent years.

If approved by voters, Measure C would charge local homeowners $320 per home per year for five years, with the funds supporting music teachers, science teachers, language teachers, librarians and other aspects of the local education program.

In their argument against Measure C, Granda and Randall assert that the vote-by-mail election is “a questionable democratic process which significantly reduces oversight to maintain the integrity of the election.”

They also argue that “it completely changes fair elections. It eliminates the poll workers and vote counting with both sides present. Ballots are opened and counted only by the elections office staff.”

These statements did not sit well with Yolo County Clerk Freddie Oakley, whose department conducts local elections. However, state law apparently does not give county clerks the authority to challenge the language of a ballot argument. Essentially, Oakley would have to sue herself in order to do so.

Instead, a lawsuit challenging the argument was filed last Friday by Oakley’s predecessor, Tony Bernhard, who retired as county clerk in 2002.

Bernhard’s suit contends that portions of Granda and Randall’s ballot arguments are “false, misleading or inconsistent” because “all mailed ballot elections are conducted lawfully in accordance with California Elections Code … there is no diminution or abrogation of the opportunity of supporters and opponents to observe all aspects of the election process … including the signature verification, opening and counting of mailed ballots.”

The suit also contends that Granda and Randall’s arguments about the vote-by-mail election are inappropriate “because they are neither for or against the (ballot) measure which is the subject matter of the election. Rather, this language seeks to impugn the integrity of the election process which (Bernhard) has spent his career upholding.”

But while Bernhard presents his case as an effort to delete “false” or “inaccurate” statements from a ballot argument that will be mailed to voters, Granda sees the matter primarily as a question of freedom of speech.

“This is an attempt to violate our First Amendment right of free speech, attempting to use the court as a censoring body instead of a judicial body,” Granda said in an emailed statement Wednesday.

“In a campaign, each side is entitled to publish its opinion, and it is the court of public opinion, not a court of law, who judges whether an argument is accurate or not,” Granda said. “Involving a court of law in an attempt to suppress the opinion of one side is a pretty arrogant and misplaced action on part of a former Yolo County clerk.”

Last spring, Granda raised similar objections regarding the vote-by-mail election for Measure A, another school district parcel tax.

The case was scheduled to be heard Thursday morning by Judge Daniel Maguire. But Maguire recused himself after Granda challenged his ability to decide the case. Granda noted that Davis Board of Education member Richard Harris is among Maguire’s endorsers in the judge’s bid for election on June 5.

The case was transferred to Judge Samuel McAdam, where Assistant County Counsel Dan Cedarborg hinted at the possibility of a compromise.

“We have some proposed compromise language that we think would meet the concerns of Bernhard and the county clerk (Oakley), rather than deleting the whole paragraph” in Granda and Randall’s ballot argument, he said.

Bernhard told the judge that “the characterization of mail elections as questionable is just not true. Every county in California uses these processes.”

He added that some experts contend “mail ballot elections are the most secure form,” since signatures on mailed-in ballots are individually checked.

Granda indicated he is willing to speak with Cedarborg regarding possible compromise language, so McAdam ordered the parties to meet and set a follow-up court date for 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20.

Not present or participating in Thursday’s court session were representatives of the Davis Joint Unified School District.

The Yolo County Elections Office plans to print Measure C materials in late January and send out ballot arguments and ballots on Feb. 6. Ballots must be returned no later than 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 6.

— Reach Jeff Hudson at [email protected] or (530) 747-8055.

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