State senator who resigned won’t appear with that designation in June election

SACRAMENTO — The chairman of the California Democratic Party will drop a lawsuit seeking to prevent former state Sen. Tony Mendoza from identifying himself as a “State Senator” in the election for the seat he just resigned, because the state’s top elections official had already rejected Mendoza’s chosen ballot title.

Eric Bauman sued Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Friday to prevent Mendoza from listing the title next to his name on the ballot during a June 5 special election to fill his vacated Senate seat. Bauman v. Padilla, 80002843 (Sacramento Super. Ct., filed March 23, 2018).

As of Friday, Bauman had not been told Padilla’s office had sent Mendoza a letter a week earlier telling him it “shall not accept a designation … that would mislead the voter.”

The March 16 letter was sent to the Mendoza campaign, but not released to the public. It cited Mendoza’s own Feb. 22 letter to the Senate announcing he was resigning “with immediate effect.”

“The secretary of state did the right thing and rejected the misleading ballot designation,” said Bauman’s attorney, Stephen J. Kaufman of the Kaufman Legal Group APC in Los Angeles. “Therefore, there is no further need for our lawsuit.”

Prior to resigning, Mendoza had filled out a ballot designation worksheet listing himself as a “State Senator,” then never updated it.

According to Padilla’s office, Mendoza did not provide an alternate ballot designation within the three-day deadline he was given in the letter. His name will appear on the special election ballots without a job description. Mendoza is also eligible to run in the regular primary election for the seat being held the same day. The filing period for that race opened on Saturday.

His resignation followed a Feb. 15 report from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and Van Dermyden Maddux finding he “more likely than not” sexually harassed six young female employees and interns. Bauman’s complaint included a copy of the three-page “Confidential Summary” of that report.

Mendoza has his own lawsuit pending against the state Senate, challenging the discipline process used against him. However, given that the case seeks to have Mendoza’s Senate privileges restored, it would appear to be largely moot. Mendoza v. California State Senate, 00227171 (Sacramento Super. Ct., filed Feb. 15, 2018).

Neither the Mendoza campaign nor his legal team returned calls seeking comment.