Bridges v. City of Wildomar
Annotate this CaseWhen voters chose to incorporate the City of Wildomar, voters also chose to elect city council members via by-district elections. In November 2009, voters chose to replace the by-district voting system with an at-large voting system. Plaintiffs Martha Bridges and John Burkett sued Wildomar for modifying the by-district means of electing city council members, arguing: (1) the modification of the voting system violated Government Code sections 57378, 34884, and 34871; and (2) the modification of the voting system was preempted by the California Constitution. The trial court granted Wildomar’s motion for summary judgment and denied Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. On appeal, plaintiffs contended the trial court erred because: (1) the modification of the voting system violated state statutes; (2) the modification of the voting system was preempted by the California Constitution; (3) Wildomar lacked the authority to repeal enactments that predated its existence as a city; and (4) the modification was invalid because the relevant ordinance does not contain a severability clause. Finding no reversible error, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.