Taxpayer Group Sues Gov. Davis Over Prop. 187

SACRAMENTO —  Saying that it is defending the initiative process, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. sued Gov. Gray Davis in the California Supreme Court on Tuesday, challenging Davis’ right to submit Proposition 187 to mediation.

Davis, who opposes the anti-illegal immigration initiative, turned the matter over to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals mediation program rather than appeal a lower court ruling that gutted the initiative. In the mediation, Davis’ aides will join with lawyers representing groups that also opposed the initiative.

The Jarvis group, which has promoted several initiatives, said the state Constitution requires that challenges to initiatives be decided by courts, not by mediators in secret. Mediation violates “the right of the people to a public trial,” according to the group’s lawsuit.

The group wants to force Davis to abandon mediation and pursue the appeal. Attorneys for the Jarvis group charge that if Davis is permitted to have the highly emotional 1994 initiative decided by a mediator, “he will establish a precedent that will undermine the people’s sacred right of initiative.”

Davis spokesman Michael Bustamante defended Davis’ mediation move, saying that it will accelerate a decision on the fate of the initiative, which has been pending in the courts for almost five years.

“A mediated course respects the will of the voters,” Bustamante said.