NORWALK — Superior Court Judge Raul Sahagun has dismissed a case of defamation of character filed by three Bellflower City Council members against activist John Drayer, who, the judge said, was using his freedom of speech when he called the officials “racists.”

The comments came last fall when Drayer criticized the city for it’s at-large elections, saying voting by council districts, as in neighboring Downey, would give minority residents a better chance for election to the City Council.

Drayer, an unsuccessful council candidate several years ago, has said that all five council members are white and lived in the same area of the city.

He acknowledges making the racist charge, passing out leaflets and calling for a boycott of businesses operated by the council members after they refused to act on his proposal or place it on a city ballot.

His charges and boycott call were against Mayor Ray Smith, a Realtor; Mayor Pro Tem Ray Dunton, who owns an auto repair shop; and Councilman Scott Larsen, an accountant. Those were the three officials who filed the defamation suit last fall.

Dunton said he and the other councilmen are conferring with their attorney on whether to appeal.

“I am disappointed in the ruling,” he said. “I felt [his words] were a personal attack on me, my business, my employees and my family.”

Drayer’s attorney, Lawrence R. Young of the Downey law firm of Lawrence Young and Associates, successfully argued that under the state’s anti-SLAPP statute, public officials may not sue for defamation of character against a person who has criticized them regarding their actions or opinions on public issues.

SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuit against public participation.

Judge Sahagun granted Young’s motion to dismiss the case on Feb. 4.
Young argued that Drayer’s call for a boycott against businesses of the council members “was well within American political history, such as the Montgomery (Ala.) Bus Boycott and the Selma (Ala.) business boycott during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

“As former President Harry Truman said, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen,’” Young said.

The court also awarded Drayer attorney fees and court costs, to be paid by the council members.

Drayer, who teaches third grade at 49th Street Elementary School in South Los Angeles, said he is working with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division on an investigation into whether the seven divisions in the Downey Unified School District should be revised to better note ethnic groups.

There is only one Latino on the school board, said Drayer, in a district in which the students are predominantly Latino.

The Downey district includes parts of South Gate, Bell Gardens and Bellflower.
Drayer said he is working with groups to get a complete and accurate count of residents in Bellflower to determine the number of minorities in various parts of the city.

Young said Monday he had not been retained by Drayer for further litigation but added “I would be glad to give him legal advice, should he ask.”

The attorney said he believes in Drayer’s efforts, adding the lack of voting power in Bellflower under at-large elections “is scandalous.”

Bellflower officials have said the at-large elections, conducted in most area cities, are fair.

Larsen stressed that the city was not involved in the lawsuit and the decision by Judge Sahagun does not address the issue of at-large elections.

However, Drayer has a letter of support from the San Francisco-based Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights, a private group, saying Bellflower’s situation as described by Drayer could be a violation of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001.