Martinez v. Newton

Opinion

Petitioner Leo Martinez, in an original proceeding before this court, seeks a writ of mandate to compel respondent Jane Newton, City Clerk of the City of Santa Barbara, to file his nomination papers and place his name on the ballot as a candidate for the Santa Barbara City Council in the election to take place on April 17, 1973. Petitioner has been a state resident since July 15, 1942, and a qualified elector of the City of Santa Barbara for more than one year.

Respondent contends that she does not have a duty to accept petitioner’s nomination papers because petitioner has not complied with section 501 of the Santa Barbara City Charter, which provides:

“No person shall be eligible to hold office as a member of City Council unless he is and shall have been a resident and qualified elector of the City for at least four years next preceding the date of his election or appointment.”

It is settled that a four-year residence requirement for the office of city council violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal Constitution. (Zeilenga v. Nelson (1971) 4 Cal.3d 716 [ 94 Cal.Rptr. 602 , 484 P.2d 578 ]; Camara v. Mellon (1971) 4 Cal.3d 714 [ 94 Cal.Rptr. 601 , 484 P.2d 577 ].)

Petitioner also attacks sections 10202 and 10210 of the Elections Code which provide for placing the incumbent’s name first on the ballot. For the reasons stated in Mexican-American Political Association v. Brown (1973) ante, page 733 [ 106 Cal.Rptr. 12 , 505 P.2d 204 ], we do not deem it appropriate to consider this issue in this original mandate proceeding.