money Judge dismisses Victorville Councilwoman Blanca Gomez's lawsuit against city
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Victorville Councilwoman Blanca Gomez that alleged civil rights violations and a conspiracy by city officials and others to prevent her from performing her elected duties.
U.S. District Court Judge Jesus Bernal ruled earlier this month that Gomez had failed to prosecute her case.
In a Feb. 1 order, Bernal wrote the councilwoman “failed to file a proof of service to demonstrate she had served the summons and complaint on Defendants within 90 days after the complaint was filed.”
Gomez was ordered to file proof on or before Jan. 18, court documents show.
Subscription sale: Only $1 per month for 6 months. Subscribe today!
Several defendants were listed in her complaint filed on Dec. 21, 2020, including the entire Victorville City Council, City Manager Keith Metzler, former Mayor Gloria Garcia and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
The city issued a release about the judge’s decision on Monday.
“When she filed her complaint in December 2020, Ms. Gomez personally issued a press release that was covered by the media,” said Victorville spokesperson Sue Jones. “For the sake of transparency, we think our public deserves to know that Ms. Gomez’s case was dismissed by the judge because she failed to pursue the matter.”
Gomez did not respond to a request for comment. She did not speak about the lawsuit during a council meeting Tuesday.
Controversy has marked Gomez’s tenure since she was first elected to the council in 2016: A failed attempt for a recall election, repeated public spats with fellow members and city staff, an accusation of unemployment fraud.
Most recently, she was charged with several misdemeanors stemming from two incidents in 2021, one in which she was arrested at City Hall during a council meeting.
She has pleaded not guilty to the various charges, including resisting arrest and battery.
Through it all, Gomez has defended herself as a representative of “the people” and suggested she’s being targeted for exposing government corruption.
Her dismissed complaint alleged that the people she was suing were “systematically disrupting her from performing her duties as a (city council member) by physically and electronically blocking access to (city council) meetings and to her city government emails for the sole purpose of keeping her silent and for asking questions about the fraud and corruption agenda being systematically and strategically coordinated by all named (defendants).”
The complaint made other allegations, such as a wrongful arrest at Hesperia City Hall. Gomez was arrested there in 2018 by a deputy on suspicion of trespassing and resisting arrest after sheriff’s officials said she refused to leave an area not generally open to the public.
Court records show she was never charged with a crime then.
Gomez said, however, that the arrest was performed “solely to embarrass (her) for political reasons.” An unsuccessful recall petition in 2018 was also planned by various city officials, she alleged.
The councilwoman also wrote in her complaint she was “entitled to an award of no less than” $1 million from Garcia, who was the city’s mayor in 2018 for alleged defamatory comments.
Despite the various wide-ranging claims alleged in the complaint, documents show little was done after filing.
In January 2021, two attorneys representing Gomez asked they be withdrawn from the case, a request Bernal granted. Gomez then represented herself.
No other documents were seen in the court docket for almost a year until January 2022, when Bernal ordered the councilwoman to show why her action shouldn’t be dismissed for lack of prosecution.
The following month, he would rule that she “failed to comply with the Court’s order.”
Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or MEstacio@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Victorville Councilwoman Blanca Gomez's lawsuit against city dismissed
