Flagstaff council votes to sue to stop SB1070

Notes:
Hundreds of people from the community rallied against SB1070 tonight.
Nearly 200 people rallied outside the council session.
The meeting lasted from 6:30PM to 10PM.
Only about 4 people spoke for SB1070.
Although the Daily Sun stated that the Tea Party was planning a rally, only 1 person attended.

- Klee


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The Flagstaff City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to file suit against Arizona’s new immigration law.

The decision, made after more than three hours of public testimony, directs the city attorney to seek an injunction preventing SB1070 from taking effect in late July.

Councilmember Coral Evans called the law “racist” and said she could not abide by a law that would target some of the poorest and most vulnerable in the community.

“It is not enough to stand in unity when things are good,” Evans said, paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr.

Councilmember Joe Haughey, while voting in favor of the lawsuit, said the city must monitor its legal bills in the face of a $6 million budget deficit and employee layoffs.

“I’m concerned about budget issues,” he said. “We’ve eliminated 13 police positions. How many more are we going to lose because we cannot afford it?”

No estimate was made Tuesday of how much the city might spend on fighting the state over the new law, although the city also set up a fund on Tuesday to accept public donations.

More than two dozen people spoke to the council during the meeting, with more than 80 percent in favor of overturning the law.

For more on the council’s action, see Wednesday’s Arizona Daily Sun.