A Connecticut Superior Court judge ruled Friday that a new redistricting plan for Fairfield was illegally approved in May by the Representative Town Meeting.
A temporary injunction preventing the map from going into effect was issued Friday by Superior Court Judge Mary Sommer after a two-day hearing about a lawsuit filed about the map, according to Fairfield Citizen.
The lawsuit was filed by former RTM Moderator Jack Slane, a Democrat, who challenged the Republican redistricting plan because it was approved solely because of a Republican party majority and was not recommended by the Redistricting Committee, according to the article.
The plan would have decreased the number of voting districts to eight from 10 and would have eliminated 10 RTM member positions, leaving 40.
Joel Green, Slane's lawyer, argued in the case that the RTM had not followed the town charter when it adopted the plan because it had not been recommended by the Redistricting Committee, which is required in the charter, according to the article.
Sommer's decision included a note saying that although the plan was passed in line with state law, the RTM cannot "ignore" its town charter, according to the article.
The Redistricting Committee, made up of three Republicans and three Democrats, has met more than 20 times in more than a year to decide upon a redistricting proposal, according to the article.
Many ideas were brought up during the redistricting battle, including this plan by Democratic Registrar Matthew Waggner.
Democrats and Republicans will nominate candidates for the RTM Tuesday using the previously existing plan, according to the article.
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