Standard-Examiner: City Council Candidate Sues Riverdale For Being Disqualified From Race

The Riverdale City Council would be calendering a motion at the earliest available date to reinstate Mr. Griffiths to his elected council post, if the Council had a lick of sense

The Standard's Mark Saal reports the latest development in the 2013 Riverdale Municipal Election SNAFU.  Yep.  Just as we predicted, Riverdale City's ham-handed mis-handling of  the November City Council race has landed the City in 2nd District Court:

• City council candidate sues Riverdale for being disqualified from race

"They (Riverdale City) broke several laws, and we're addressing each of those," (ousted candidate Gary) Griffiths said in a telephone interview Friday.

Weirdly, Riverdale officials however seem committed to "gambling," that their actions, which nullified Mr. Griffiths' election, will be upheld, apparently under a twisted mis-application of "contract" theory.

Seems that Riverdale City's blunders continue to be compounded, inasmuch as the plaintiff, Mr. Griffiths, may be statutorily entitled, assuming he does prevail in court (a sound assumption, we think), to "costs" and "attorney fees," in addition to reinstatement to his council seat:

(9) (a) A private party in interest may bring a civil action in district court to enforce the provisions of this section or an ordinance adopted under this section.
(b) In a civil action under Subsection (9)(a), the court may award costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party.

Gamblers that they appear to be, Riverdale City officials should keep in mind the primary rule of "smart" gamblers:

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away, know when to run.

Turning to the legal and equitable merits of this case, we believe the Standard-Examiner editorial board said it best:

In short, Riverdale goofed on its interpretation of the deadline for signed filings. Its initial response -- to allow Griffiths to be a candidate -- was correct. Herrick's decision to change that after the vote has led to a man unfairly losing his election to city council. If Griffiths decides to challenge Riverdale's decision, it's our opinion he will have an excellent case.
Riverdale should simply admit it made a mistake and restore Griffiths' election victory.

The Riverdale Council would be calendering a motion at the earliest available date to reinstate Mr. Griffiths to his elected council post, if the Council had a lick of sense.

Given the City's shamefully arrogant and stubborn behavior to date however, we certainly won't be holding our breath.