YUMA, Ariz. — A City Council candidate who was barred from running because she doesn’t speak English proficiently is vowing to appeal the judge’s ruling.
Alejandrina Cabrera conceded in an interview with the Yuma Sun that she needs to improve her command of English. But the San Luis resident said the judge’s decision that she doesn’t satisfy a state law requiring elected officials to be proficient is unjust.
“He can’t take away my constitutional rights, and if he takes away my rights, he takes away the rights of the community,” Cabrera told The Sun’s Spanish-language edition Saturday.
State law requires elected officials to know English, but Cabrera’s attorneys have argued that the law does not define proficiency in the language.
Denver Post wire services
