Reactionaries and fascists hate when the public doesn't buy their fear-mongering authoritarian vision, but why should democracy get in the way when lawfare is an option? Why suffer consequences for hate speech when you can whine and file bad lawsuits and have taxpayers foot the bill?
Locally, we've been tracking two lawfare cases brought by aging, angry men reluctant to cede their limited power to anyone born after lead exposure limits were set. (Lawfare means using the courts to try to advance a goal: this has been a project of the right wing in the US for the last 40 years, capped off with the 2022 overturning of Roe vs. Wade and this term, the end of Chevron Deference which effectively places judges above subject matter experts in technical cases deciding things like "how much poison is safe for a chemical company to dump into your water supply?").
First up is former teacher Ray Shelton (who is opposed to identity politics but would like to remind you at every City Council and School Board meeting that he is GAY and also NATIVE AMERICAN). He partnered with Chris Rufo-connected weirdo cowboy attorney David Pivtorak to sue Glendale Unified School District for what he claimed was both wrongful termination and a violation of his first amendment rights. In a series of extremely sloppy filings, Shelton claims the entire school board, principal of his former school, and a list of 50 unnamed "Doe" defendants engaged in a retaliatory conspiracy to punish him for what he claims was a principled public statement of his beliefs:
We noted last month a judge dismissed most of Shelton's claims but gave him one last chance to submit a more detailed response by September 3rd. Pivtorak must have realized he was in over his head, or else the GiveSendGo money he raised ran out, because a recent filing shows the addition of a new legal team to Shelton's case, Advocates for Faith and Freedom. AFF was founded by Robert Tyler (who is also listed on staff for the Christian nationalist Alliance Defending Freedom) and is notable regionally for representing fired Christian activist teacher/MLM supplement upline, Jessica Tapia.
Tapia, a former public school PE teacher, was investigated after students complained about her attempts to indoctrinate them with her religious views in class. She also posted hateful anti-LGBTQ+ content on her social media channels. After refusing to agree to comply with state law regarding protections for LGBTQ+ students, Tapia was removed from her position. She then sued the district, citing a violation of her "religious freedom" (to discriminate against LGBTQ+ people apparently). Sound familiar?
The case was settled out of court (rumor has it the district just wanted her to go away and she'll never be hired in a public school again). Tapia received a $300,000 settlement. With AFF Tapia started a new project called "Teachers Don't Lie" which promises pro bono representation for teachers who want to chase big paychecks for bullying LGBTQ+ kids.
Advocates for Faith and Freedom, like many of the right wing lawfare orgs (Pacific Justice Institute, ADF, Pacific Legal Foundation, etc) is also a non-profit-- that's right, an organization that exists solely to sue public school districts and drain our public resources enjoys full tax-exempt status.
It remains to be seen whether AFF can correct the sloppy work of Pivtorak and give Shelton a shot at the lawfare big bucks, but we'll be watching the court filings next month....
Next up: an update on Glendale City Council member/Ohio native Ara Najarian who enlisted his son to sue the city for voting for Elen Asatryan to be mayor. Najarian alleged he had the right to be mayor and was denied it and asked the court to replace Asatryan with himself, pending the requested trial. In an order denying this request filed August 5, Judge Goorvitch takes the time to school the junior Najarian on his error-filled and procedurally incorrect filing before noting the potential harm to the city posed by Najarian's request:
Lastly, we have a new entrant in the world of somehow non-profit right wing legal organizations created to wage lawfare on the public good-- this one is California Justice Center, a new project of the California Policy Center spearheded by CPC legal counsel and Palos Verdes school board member, Julie Hamill. Yep! An actual sitting school board member ALSO works as legal counsel for anti-public school, anti-union, anti-LGBTQ+ State Policy Network member California Policy Center and ALSO now runs their new schools and unions-focused legal division.
To boost the new org's profile, Hamill also appeared this weekend alongside far right reactionary politicians like Bill Essayli, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters, recalled former Temecula school board member Joseph Komrosky, soccer mom Sonja Shaw and queen of book-banning Karen England at an Anaheim Leadership Institute/Real Impact training session for school board members and school-focused activists. Liberty Justice Center, yet another legal org-- this one representing Chino Valley in its lawsuit against the state-- boosted the event and Hamill's post.
Liberty Justice Center, Leadership Institute, and Real Impact are all tax-exempt non-profit organizations.