Mount Pleasant Legal Bill in Voting Rights Case Exceeds $700G
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
The Mount Pleasant Town Board approved invoices totaling more than $400,000 last week for legal counsel that is defending the municipality in the voting rights case where the plaintiffs charge the system is racially polarized.
For the months of April and May, the board signed off on another $424,242.33 for Baker Hostetler at its Aug. 13 meeting, the prominent firm that has often represented Republican governments and interests in a variety of cases around the U.S.
With both sets of invoices having been approved, the board has now authorized payments of $732,340.66 for representation connected to the matter from early January when it retained Baker Hostetler through May 31.
Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said the town doesn’t enjoy spending large sums of money on legal fees, but in this case he and the board believe it is justified.
“You’re always concerned with that (expense). They cut their fees down,” Fulgenzi said of Baker Hostetler. “Our insurance company has agreed to assist us with the costs. Do we want this to go on forever? No, but at the same time we feel we’re right. We think it’s a battle worth fighting. They want to change the course of voting that we’ve had for 200 years.”
Last year, five Mount Pleasant residents challenged the town under the 2022 New York State Voting Rights Act. They alleged that because the town is about 19 percent Hispanic, those voters almost never have a candidate of their choice win a town election. Much of the Hispanic population is concentrated in the Village of Sleepy Hollow, which is about half Hispanic.
One of the five plaintiffs is no longer involved with the case because of a health matter, The Examiner learned this summer.
There are a variety of potential remedies the town could seek to avoid the litigation that were outlined by its consultants last fall, who concluded that they found evidence of racially polarized voting patterns in Mount Pleasant. Ranked choice voting or instituting a ward system where the four Town Board seats would each represent a different district in town are two possibilities.
Attorney David Imamura opted not to comment about the latest legal bill to the town. Last month, he told The Examiner that “there’s no question the Hispanic community has been unable to elect of their choice” based on the data that was uncovered.
However, town officials have maintained that they have done nothing to prevent any town resident from voting. Earlier this summer.
Fulgenzi said most of the money to cover the legal fees has come from fund balance, which is at robust levels. He gave no indication that the town plans to back down.
“We’re going into the budget season now, we’ve got to work on that and how we adjust moving forward,” Fulgenzi said. “We have a substantial fund balance, so it’s not hurting us financially, but any expense is something we have to watch.”
The anticipated next step is motions for summary judgment. If the case goes to trial it could begin before the end of the year.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
