The State - News from Dec. 8, 1988

A federal appeals court rejected an appeal by the city of Watsonville for a rehearing on a voting rights case in which its at-large, citywide election system was declared unconstitutional earlier this year because it dilutes the voting power of Latinos. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the city’s request. The decision was hailed by Chicano activists, who contend that the system is similar to those used by many cities throughout the Southwest to keep Latinos from gaining political power. In Watsonville, half of the city’s 23,543 residents are Latino, but no Latinos sit on the City Council.