Jose Castañeda to sue Salinas for alleged civil rights violations.

A new chapter in embattled Salinas City Councilman Jose Castañeda's bitter saga with his own City Council begins this afternoon, when Castañeda, several constituents and their attorney plan to file a claim against the city of Salinas. 

Castañeda and at least nine other residents of District 1 allege the city has violated their civil rights, including voting rights. Their claim is a precursor to a federal lawsuit. 

The plaintiffs allege that several actions by city officials, most recently the City Council's 6-0 vote to censure Castañeda for various instances of misconduct, some documented and some alleged, effectively deprive his constituents of their federally protected voting rights. 

"You can have your voting rights taken away from you by voting intimidation, or if you elect someone who is impeded from performing their duties, it's a backdoor form of disenfranchisement," says attorney Anthony Prince.

Besides Castañeda, plaintiffs include Frank Alvarado Sr., Elias Lizaola, Maria Del Rosario Lizaola, Jesus Diaz, Meredith Ibarra, Elvin Ibarra, Rodolfo Rincon Sr., Rodolfo Rincon Jr., and Miguel Angel Barocio.

Prince and Castañeda view the city's actions against Castañeda, like the censure and a request for the district attorney to investigate, as an effort to silence him because of his unpopular opinions on the issues, particularly concerning police practices and police shootings, rather than his personal conduct.

"This is not about my supposed bad governance," Castañeda says. "This is really about race and class."

Mayor Joe Gunter disagrees: "All we asked Mr. Castañeda to do was obey the same rules as the rest of the council members."

Prince and Castañeda have three primary asks of Salinas officials: To contact the DA again and ask that they drop the investigation in Castañeda; to revoke the censure; and to change a city policy about adding items to City Council agendas, allowing just one council member to get an item on the City Council agenda, not two. 

"We really don't want to be in a battle with the city," Prince says. "We want to re-enfranchise the people of District 1."

But City Attorney Chris Callihan says the city is unlikely to act on those items, and he doubts the lawsuit would be dropped anyway: "It's more grandstanding and posturing," he says. 

Callihan says City Council will review the claim in closed session Sept. 15, and he'll recommend they reject it. 

"I think they've displayed a fundamental misunderstanding of the Voting Rights Act," Callihan says.

Prince says city officials are deliberately diverting Castañeda from his leadership duties, and likens the councilman to historic civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and United Farm Workers organizers, who were targeted by law enforcement as a means of silencing them. 

"We have someone who’s in the mold of those leaders, championing the same kind of things they championed, and he’s now getting the same kind of treatment," Prince says.

To that end, Castañeda and Prince view the litigation as an effort to make Salinas the center of a much grander contemporary battle for civil rights, drawing upon activists and underdog causes across the nation. 

Together, they launched the California Network for Revolutionary Change in Salinas last year. 

Castañeda missed his censure hearing Aug. 19 because he was in New York and Jackson, Mississippi at a meeting of community organizers and activists from all across the Western Hemisphere.

The name of the group or the activists who attended is confidential, Castañeda says, but they agreed to devote their collective energies to Salinas' District 1. 

"They see [this lawsuit] not only as a voice for District 1, but all the issues going on in Ferguson, Oakland, Jackson Mississippi, New York City," Castañeda adds. 

Castañeda's takeaway from the conference: "In order to kill a king or a queen, you have to kill their reputation first."

Prince intends to establish a legal defense fund for the case, soliciting donations to fund the lawsuit. 

Prince, Castañeda and supporters held a press conference at City Hall Tuesday afternoon and filed the claim. They are seeking in excess of $25,000 in damages.