Known for his calm, restrained approach to explosive and complex topics, City Councilman Andy Weissman said this morning the State Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to expedite the suit brought by redevelopment agencies against Gov. Brown is a hollow yawner.
“This is nothing — merely a decision to hear the case,” said the veteran attorney. “The State Court has not ruled on the merits. Just because they accepted the case, there is nothing to suggest they are leaning one way or the other.”
Foiled so far in his attempt to dissolve the mainly-small town redevelopment agencies, Gov. Brown said last month that if each community handed over a huge balloon payment by next May, he would let them live. Two statewide advocacy organizations have sued Mr. Brown on the grounds his action is unconstitutional, and that is the what the State Court has agreed to take up.
“On matters of importance,” Mr. Weissman said, “the Supreme Court periodically will take up a case instead of having it follow a normal chain. I don’t know what the underlying pleadings were, so I don’t know if a particular reason was given.
“I don’t read anything into the decision to accept the case. This just shortens the process. It will be done much quicker to get to a result than if had gone through the conventional steps.”
Mr. Weissman said it was difficult to speculate on the court’s motivation for accepting the case “because I don’t know what reasons the petition gave for the court to take the case in the first place. It doesn’t mean anything outside of compressing the time between now and a decision.
“They still have to brief the case. They still have to argue the case. Shortening the time between now and a ruling is the only significance for me.”
