Opinion No. (2002)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General MARJORIE E. COX Deputy Attorney General JONATHAN L. WINNINGHAM, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CALIMESA, has requested this office to grant leave to sue in quo warranto upon the following question: Is Jon S. Taylor unlawfully holding the office of member of the Calimesa City Council due to a change of residence? CONCLUSION Whether Jon S. Taylor is unlawfully holding the office of member of the Calimesa City Council due to a change of residence presents substantial issues of fact and law requiring judicial resolution. ANALYSIS Jonathan L. Winningham, Mayor of the City of Calimesa ("Winningham"), contends that Jon S. Taylor ("Taylor") is unlawfully serving as a member of the Calimesa City Council due to the sale of his home in Calimesa and his move to a residence in the City of Yucaipa. Winningham requests that we grant his application to file a "quo warranto" action against Taylor to remove Taylor from office. We conclude that the request should be granted. Calimesa is a general law city governed by a five-member city council whose members are elected and serve at large. Taylor was first elected to the city council in 1996. He was reelected for a second…