August 28, 2018 -- An expert in California voting demographics authored a report for Santa Monica officials and also advised neighborhood activists on redistricting during a voting rights lawsui against the City.

The City Attorney's chief of staff George Cardona testified Tuesday that Karin MacDonald, a census expert at UC Berkeley, conducted a study for the City after the lawsuit was filed, according to plaintiff attorney Kevin Shenkman.

MacDonald would later advise two neighborhood activists who support the cause of the Latino plaintiffs on how Santa Monica could be redistricted, according to a document filed with the court.

Plaintiffs in the voting rights lawsuit claim MacDonald's report warned the City Council before it embarked on the expensive lawsuit that there was a pattern of polarized voting in Santa Monica

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